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THE  HIGHER  ROCK. 


SERMONS,  ADDRESSES,  AND  ARTICLES 


BY 

EDMUND  JACOB  WOLF,  D.  D.,  LL.  D., 

Late  Professor  of  Church  History  and  New  Testament  Exegesis  in  the 
Theological  Seminary  at  Gettysburg,  Pa. 


COMPILED    BY    A   COMMITTEE   OF   THE    BOARD    OF    PUBLICATION. 


MEMORIAL  EDITIOA'. 


PHILADELPHIA,   PA.: 

THE  LUTHERAN  PUBLICATION  SOCTF.TV 


LIBRARY  OF  PRiNCETON 


>uN    1  0 


THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


Copyright,  1905, 

BY  THE 

LUTHERAN   PUBLICATION   SOCIETY. 


PUBLISHERS'  PREFACE. 

This  book  is  not  a  commercial  venture.  It  is  not  pub- 
lished for  financial  profit.    It  should  need  no  advertisement. 

The  publication  was  suggested  by  and  undertaken  in 
response  to  the  expressed  wishes  of  numerous  friends  and 
former  pupils  of  Dr.  Wolf.  Many  of  the  sermons  and 
most  of  the  papers  and  addresses  were  selected  upon  the 
suggestion  of  those  who  had  heard  or  read  them.  There 
was  a  very  general  desire  to  have  them  collected  in  per- 
manent form.  This  made  it  evident  that  the  expenditure 
was  justified. 

The  book  is,  first  of  all,  a  memorial.  Dr.  Wolf  held  a 
warm  place  in  many  hearts.  His  intense  nature  often 
created  antagonisms,  but  his  lovable  disposition  appealed 
to  the  heart.  He  was  loyally  devoted  to  his  Church  and 
gave  his  time  and  strength  to  its  service.  He  deserves  an 
abiding  place  in  our  thoughts.  We  too  soon  forget  those 
who  do  faithful  service. 

"  When  anything  is  done, 
People  see  not  the  patient  doing  of  it, 
Nor  think  how  great  would  be  the  loss  to  man 
If  it  had  not  been  done." 

The  book  has  intrinsic  merit.  The  sermons  and  papers 
are  rich  in  mature  thought.  They  are  the  ripe  fruit  of  a 
thoughtful  and  scholarly  mind.  Laymen  and  ministers 
alike  will  find  the  book  not  only  readable  but  interesting 

(iii) 


iv  publishers'  preface. 

and  profitable.  It  contains  clear  and  strong  presentations 
of  truth. 

The  selections  were  made  with  great  care  out  of  a  vast 
amount  of  material.  With  a  few  exceptions,  the  sermons 
have  never  been  published.  The  papers  and  addresses 
have  appeared  in  various  magazines.  Of  several  of  these 
our  limited  space  made  it  necessary  to  make  extracts. 
Care  has  been  taken  not  to  break  the  logical  connection  of 
thought.  These  selections  indicate  a  wide  range  of  thought 
and  interest.  They  are  typical  of  the  man.  They  reveal 
his  profound  insight  of  Scripture  and  the  purely  evangelical 
trend  of  his  religious  thought,  and,  at  the  same  time,  an 
intelligent  knowledge  of  and  interest  in  human  affairs. 
The  book  brings  him  before  us  as  preacher,  professor,  and 
citizen. 

The  family  of  Dr.  Wolf  have  heartily  endorsed  this 
publication,  and  placed  in  our  hands  the  material  from 
which  most  of  the  selections  were  made.  Indeed,  it  was 
in  line  with  their  desires  and  purposes  that  the  book  is  pub- 
lished, and  by  The  Lutheran  Publication  Society.  The 
promulgation  of  such  thought  as  this  book  contains  is  the 
proper  and  constitutional  work  of  the  Society.  We  send 
it  forth  with  the  hope  that  it  may  carry  messages  into  the 
homes  of  the  Church  and  strengthen  the  faith  of  many. 

THE  PUBLISHERS. 
Philadelphia,  September  20,  1905. 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Dr.  Wolf  from  the  Home-side 7 

Dr.  W01.F  IN  THE  Lutheran  Church 16 

SERMONS. 

I.  The  Higher  Rock 29 

11.  The  Third  Sunday  in  Advent 50 

III.  The  Mother  of  My  Lord 64 

IV.  The  New  Covenant 78 

V.  The    Preservation     of    the  Jews   an    Illustration    ui'    the 

Divine  Government 91 

VI.  The  Rejected  Pharisee 109 

VII.  The  Accepted  Publican,  a  Model  Case'of  Repentance    .    .  121 

VIII.  Saved  from  Eternity 136 

IX.  The  Nature  and  Power  of  Faith 145 

X.  The  Great  Mystery 152 

ADDRESSES  AND  ARTICLES. 
I.  The  Drama  of  Providence  on  the  |Eve  [of   the  j  Reforma- 
tion   161 

II.  The  Lutheran  Church  in  History 186 

III.  The  Earliest  Lutheran  Churches 198 

IV.  The  Lutherans 212 

V.  The  Social  Conscience 241 

VI.  The  Value  of   Ecclesiastical  History  to  the   Evangelical 

Lutheran  Church 257 

VII.  Our  DeVjt  and  Duty  to  the  Immigrant  Population   ...  283 
VIII.  The  Historic  Episcopate  the  Corner-stone^of  ajReunited 

Church 316 

IX.  The  Prayers  of  the  Selfish 324 

X.  Eating  and  Drinking  Unworthily 330 

XL  Two  Facts  as  to  Inerrancy 335 

XII.  The  Saviour's  Prayer 340 

XIII.  The  Golden  Censer  in  the  Holy  of  Holies 346 

XIV.  "  He  Being  Dead  Yet  Speaketh  " 352 

XV.  The  Easter  Fact 357 

XVI.  An  Address  of  Welcome  ...        368 

XVII.  John  Burns  at  Gettysburg 368 

(V) 


THE   HIGHER  ROCK. 


DR.  WOLF  FROM  THE  HOME-SIDE. 

BY  ROBBIN   B.    WOLF,   ESQ. 

In  the  back  of  a  small  note  book  found  after  my 
father's  death,  I  discovered  the  following  brief  notes 
of  his  ancestry : — 

Great-grandfather  Michael  Wolf  came  from  Germany  and 

settled  in  Lebanon  County,  Pennsylvania. 

Paul  Wolf  (his  son) 

(Born  July  30,  1772.     Died  June  6,  1822.) 

married  Sophia  (family  name  not  given). 

(Born  March  2,  1772.     Died  January  29,  1833.) 

Jacob  Wolf  (son  of  Paul  and  Sophia). 

(Born  January  26,  1801.     Died  October  6,  1853.) 

Christian  Gast 

(Born  April  23,  1726.     Died -,  1805.) 

married  Christiana  Brandt, 

(Born  October  29,  1729.     Died  October  6,  1803.) 

Both  came  to  America  from  Wurtemburg  early  in  life. 

John  Nicholas  Gast  (his  sou) 

(Born  April  21,  1760.     Died  December  2,  1810. ) 

married  Anna  Catherine  Knipe, 

(Born  November  15.  1771.     Died  October  11,  1863.) 

Mary  Gast  (their  daughter), 

(Born  May  30,  1802.     Died  January  6,  1898.) 

Jacob  Wolf  married  Mary  Gast. 

(7) 


8  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

Edmund  Jacob  Wolf  was  born  in  a  quiet  valley 
in  Centre  County,  Pennsylvania,  December  8,  1840. 
His  ancestors  on  both  sides  were  of  German  descent, 
remarkable,  perhaps,  in  no  respect  save  the  consistent 
longevity  of  the  maternal  line. 

Of  his  boyhood  days  I  know  very  little.  Dr. 
Harpster,  who  was  a  playmate,  tells  me  that  he  was  an 
out-and-out  boy.  Father  himself  has  related  to  me 
some  of  his  youthful  experiences — but  chiefly  mere  bits 
of  mischief  which  haunted  his  acute  conscience  until 
later  in  life. 

At  an  early  age  he  gave  some  promise  of  future 
distinction,  for  his  father  when  dying  committed  the 
lad,  not  yet  in  his  teens,  to  the  care  of  an  older  brother, 
saying :  "Take  care  of  Edmund ;  you  can  make  some- 
thing of  him," 

Fatherless  at  twelve,  he  began  the  struggle  which 
the  Almighty  has  appointed  for  us  all.  By  means  of 
teaching  and  with  the  assistance  of  a  limited  patrimony, 
he  prepared  himself  for  the  sophomore  year  at  Pennsyl- 
vania College,  and  entered  it  with  the  class  of  '63.  In 
college  he  formed  many  close  and  valuable  friendships, 
which  continued  a  joy  to  him  throughout  his  life.  Here 
also  he  was  won  away  from  his  purpose  to  become  a 
politician ;  and,  unable  to  resist  the  appeals  of  his  con- 
science, he  was  led  to  adopt  the  ministry  of  reconcilia- 
tion. He  prepared  many  of  his  meals  in  his  room,  was 
a  frequent  caller  up  town,  but  found  time  for  lots  of 
hard  study.  Success  crowned  his  work  in  the  class- 
room, and  upon  graduation  he  was  awarded  first  honor 
and  the  Greek  Oration.    This  oration  was  never  deliv- 


DR.  WOI,F   FROM    THE   HOME-SIDE.  9 

ered,  for  about  that  time  General  Lee  came  marching 
into  Gettysburg,  and  the  little  band  of  student  volun- 
teers, greatly  outnumbered,  sought  salutem  in  fuga. 

Father's  military  career  was  brief — I  am  not  posi- 
tive that  he  ever  saw  the  enemy.  He  always  seemed 
confident  that  he  had  never  shot  anyone.  At  the  end  of 
six  weeks  he  was  honorably  discharged,  and  he  ever 
after  took  pride  in  this  small  service  to  his  country.  In 
later  years  he  became  identified  with  the  Grand  Army 
and  served  as  chaplain  of  the  Gettysburg  Post. 

After  graduation  from  college  he  entered  the 
seminary  at  Gettysburg,  but  remained  only  one  year — 
a  year,  however,  which  in  great  measure  shaped  the 
rest  of  his  life.  I>r  Brown  recognized  his  scholarship 
and  was  the  moving  spirit  in  his  being  called  to  Balti- 
more and  subsequently  to  Gettysburg.  In  the  academic 
year  1865- 1866  he  completed  his  theological  studies  in 
Germany  at  the  Universities  of  Erlangen  and  Tubin- 
gen. A  few  years  later,  in  broken  health  and  with 
failing  eyesight,  he  again  visited  the  land  of  the  Rhine, 
renewed  his  former  friendships,  and  then  crossed  over 
into  Switzerland,  whose  wholesome  climate  and  rich 
scenery  seemed  to  create  anew  the  life  which  had 
threatened  to  pass  away. 

In  December,  1865,  he  received  his  first  call — to 
the  Paradise  charge,  in  Northumberland  County,  Pa. 
He  at  once  married  Miss  Ella  Kemp,  of  Edgehill, 
Maryland,  and,  in  his  own  words,  bade  adieu  to  his 
weeping  mother  and  started  with  his  wife  and  library 
for  the  charge  to  which  he  had  in  God's  guidance  and 
providence  been  chosen. 


lO  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

Here  he  had  four  congregations,  widely  separated, 
and  each  with  its  German  and  EngHsh  constituency. 
Night  and  day  he  labored,  ministering  to  the  sick, 
preaching  the  Gospel  and  jealously  employing  any  open 
time  in  reading  and  study. 

But  the  driving  from  church  to  church  and  visiting 
his  flock,  often  in  precarious  weather,  was  too  great  a 
tax  on  his  frail  physique,  and  one  rainy  night  he  sym- 
pathetically remarked  to  his  little  horse :  "I  believe  you 
would  be  more  comfortable  in  a  city  charge." 

The  call  to  Baltimore  came  in  1868,  and  for  six 
years  he  served  as  pastor  of  the  Lombard  Street 
Church-.  His  sojourn  at  Baltimore  was  blessed  with 
the  formation  of  happy  friendships  which  continued 
throughout  his  life. 

In  1874,  he  was  elected  to  a  chair  in  the  Gettysburg 
Seminary.  At  first  he  declined,  but  later  accepted,  and 
for  thirty  years  gave  his  best  efforts  to  preparing  young 
men  for  the  holy  ministry. 

These,  in  brief,  were  the  chief  epochs  of  his  life. 
That  life  has  been  a  public  one  in  the  full  sense  of  the 
word,  whether  as  the  citizen  or  the  man  of  God.  But 
there  was  also  the  private  side.  It  is  not  my  purpose 
to  lift  the  veil  from  the  family  sanctuary,  but  merely 
to  portray  enough  of  father's  home  life  to  show  that 
it  was  consistent  and  in  keeping  with  the  holy  office 
which  he  professed. 

Four  small  words  seem  a  complete  summary  of  his 
daily  life  at  home,  viz. :  struggle,  prayer,  faith  and 
love.  Father's  struggle  in  life  began  when  as  a  mere 
boy,  largely  dependent  on  his  own  resources,  he  began 


DR.  WOI.F    FROM    THE    HOME-SIDE.  II 

the  tedious  process  of  self-education ;  it  endured  until 
the  fatal  disease  successfully  baffled  his  effort.  Rising 
early  in  the  morning,  he  was  impatient  for  his  break- 
fast. Having  summarily  disposed  of  that,  he  went  to 
work. 

If  his  mind  grew  weary,  he  would  seek  some  brief 
recreation  in  the  garden,  then  hurry  back  to  work.  At 
times  he  seemed  to  toil  almost  slavishly,  and  had  not 
his  weak  eyes  forbidden,  the  spark  of  his  life  would 
have  burned  itself  out  at  even  an  earlier  age.  He 
wrote  incessantly,  and  having  no  amanuensis,  the  labor 
was  all  his  own. 

The  duty  to  save  souls  seemed  fastened  upon  him, 
and  whether  as  pastor  or  professor,  he  never  lost  sight 
of  it.  Sunday  after  Sunday,  when  the  close  of  a  hard 
week's  work  would  naturally  suggest  rest,  he  left  the 
leisurely  comfort  of  his  home  to  preach  the  Gospel. 

In  his  teaching,  he  struggled.  For  thirty  years  he 
took  his  classes  over  practically  the  same  ground,  yet 
he  prepared  for  each  recitation  as  it  came,  being  unwil- 
ling to  appear  before  the  class  stale  or  unprepared. 
Every  third  year  he  completely  revised  his  lectures. 
The  old  lectures  might  have  sufficed,  but  that  was  not 
his  standard. 

Again,  he  struggled  for  his  convictions.  Even 
when  seemingly  alone,  he  stood  courageously  by  them, 
sometimes,  alas,  at  great  cost,  but  little  he  recked. 
In  his  diary  he  writes :  "I  was  enabled  to  fear  God 
rather  than  men.  May  I  never  seek  the  smile  of  men, 
nor  shrink  from  their  frown."  One  struggling  so  hard, 
it  seems,  should  feel  some  satisfaction,  yet  he  writes : 


12  THE   HIGHER   ROCK. 

"But  O!  coldly,  how  miserably  I  do  my  duty!  Great 
God,  have  mercy  on  me.  Deliver  me  from  this  infernal 
lukewarmness,  from  this  frightful  indifference.  Give 
me  zeal  and  give  me  courage  in  order  that  I  may  labor 
more  earnestly  for  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.  O,  if  they 
who  have  done  all  they  can,  must  still  reckon  them- 
selves unprofitable  servants,  where  has  language  a  name 
that  is  humble  enough  for  me?" 

He  was  a  firm  believer  in  the  efiicacy  of  prayer, 
and  was  habitually  prayerful.  He  began  and  ended 
the  day  with  a  prayer,  asked  God's  blessing  on  each 
meal,  always  had  family  worship ;  and  often  have  I 
come  upon  him  in  the  twilight  bowed  in  prayer,  or  in 
passing  his  library  overheard  him  pouring  forth  his 
soul  in  divine  supplication.  He  kept  his  ministerial 
diary  in  a  small  pocketbook,  but  he  found  room  on 
nearly  every  page  for  a  sentence  of  prayer.  Each 
entry  of  a  visit  to  the  sick  was  followed  by  a  brief 
prayer,  e.  g. :  "May  the  Lord  spare  his  life  and  sanctify 
this  sickness  for  the  welfare  of  his  soul." 

As  one  by  one  six  of  his  children  were  called  to 
fest,  he  did  not  question  the  Divine  wisdom,  nor  lament 
his  lot,  but  knelt  by  their  bedside  in  humble  prayer  for 
light  to  see  the  lessons  of  the  affliction,  and  raised  his 
voice  in  songs  of  praise  to  God. 

He  had  faith  which  I  have  never  seen  surpassed. 
Faith  was  his  dearest  treasure,  and  though  often  sorely 
tried,  he  never  seemed  to  doubt  or  waver  for  a  moment. 
In  reply  to  the  charge  that  preachers  are  always  biased 
in  the  matter  of  Bible  criticism,  he  wrote :  "Why  should 
I  not  be  prejudiced  in  defending  that  which  sustains 


DR.  WOLF    FROM   THE    HOME-SIDE.  1 3 

my    very   life    here   by    the    promise    of   a   better   Hfe 
beyond  ?" 

At  one  period  of  his  Ufe,  he  was  almost  over- 
whelmed by  care  and  work ;  the  strife  in  the  church  was 
at  its  worst ;  the  work  on  his  second  book  was  exhaust- 
ing him;  three  sons,  two  of  them  just  entering  man- 
hood, were  taken  from  him  at  brief  intervals ;  insomnia 
was  preventing  restful  sleep;  but  throughout  these 
trials  and  a  hundred  others,  his  faith  in  the  providence 
of  God  was  sublime.  Faith  was  the  balm  for  his  every 
wound,  the  source  of  his  greatest  comfort.  In  perhaps 
the  darkest  hour  of  them  all  he  wrote  to  a  friend: 
"Pray  that  my  faith  fail  not."  His  favorite  sermon 
was  "The  Nature  and  Power  of  Faith;"  his  favorite 
hymn,  "My  Faith  Looks  Up  to  Thee." 

Finally,  his  heart  was  full  of  love.  Willie,  his  first 
born  son,  was  scarcely  six  months  old  when  he  wrote : 
"How  that  dear  child  has  twined  itself  around  every 
fibre  of  my  heart."  Being  a  man  of  nervous  habits  and 
a  zealous  student,  father  was  often  annoyed  by  us 
children.  Impatience  was  perhaps  his  greatest  fault, 
yet  his  impatience  was  always  tempered  with  love.  He 
tried  to  bring  his  children  up  properly,  and  was  gener- 
ally positive,  but  never  severe.  The  church  stood  first 
in  his  afifections,  but  he  was  a  loving  husband  and  a 
self-sacrificing  parent,  and  by  the  many  manifestations 
of  his  kindness  contributed  the  lion's  share  in  making 
ours  a  happy  home.  We  children  inherited  his  fond- 
ness for  narrative,  and  it  was  a  common  occurrence  for 
the  family  to  linger  at  the  table  by  the  hour  in  jolly 
conversation. 


14  THE   HIGHER    ROCK. 

He  reveled  in  the  beauties  of  nature,  was  fond  of 
dogs  and  horses  and,  I  fear,  it  was  a  limited  purse 
rather  than  any  misgivings  of  conscience,  that  forbade 
his  owning  a  span  of  trotters. 

He  was  fond  of  a  joke  and  had  a  good  sense  of 
humor.  His  brief  review  of  a  none  too  meritorious 
book  was :  "This  book  is  exactly  what  we  should  expect 
from  its  author."  To  a  young  theolog  who  said  he 
did  know  but  had  forgotten,  he  answered:  "I  am  sorry, 
for  you  are  the  first  who  has  ever  known  that." 

He  was  argumentative  and  a  fearless  fighter.  In 
the  bitterness  of  ecclesiastical  diflFerences,  he  seemed  to 
make  many  enemies,  but  even  in  the  privacy  of  his 
home  no  word  of  hatred  or  resentment  ever  escaped  his 
lips.  As  a  family  we  deeply  lamented  the  unpleasant- 
ness which  his  intensity  brought  upon  him.  but  we  were 
doubly  glad  that  despite  his  untimely  death,  he  lived 
to  see  the  day  of  peace — the  dawn  of  a  better  day  in  the 
Lutheran  Church.  We  feel  grateful  that  the  General 
Synod  saw  fit  to  forget  personal  differences  of  opinion 
and  to  honor  his  integrity  by  electing  him  its  President 
— a  fitting  climax  to  a  life  devoted  almost  exclusively 
to  the  work  of  the  Church. 

Six  weeks  before  his  death  he  told  me,  evidently 
with  some  premonition,  that  he  would  like  to  live  about 
ten  years  longer,  because  of  work  which  he  wanted  to 
do.  Before  that  he  had  begun  to  let  up  a  little  in  his 
work,  but  apparently  was  in  the  best  of  health.  The 
end  came  rapidly :  for  several  weeks  he  suffered  excru- 
ciating pain,  but  was  resigned  and  happy  in  that  he  had 
escaped  so  much  suffering.     Despite  the  fact  that  he 


DR.  WOLF    FROM    THE    HOME-SIDE.  1 5 

had  mapped  out  work  for  years  ahead,  that  he  was  in 
full  possession  of  his  powers,  that  he  was  for  the  first 
time  in  years  at  peace  with  all  men,  and  that  everything- 
pointed  to  a  comfortable  enjoyment  of  his  remaining 
vears,  he  died  fearlessly  and  without  a  murmur.  Shortly 
after  noon,  January  10,  1905,  the  life  that  had  known 
turmoil  and  struggle,  passed  sweetly  and  peacefully 
away.  And  as  I  looked  for  the  last  time  at  the  lifeless 
face,  there  was  an  expression  of  triumph  on  it  which 
seemed  to  defy  the  grave  and  to  forbid  to  weep. 

"He  never  turned  his  back  but  marched  breast  forward, 
Never  doubted  clouds  would  break; 

Never  dreamed  though  right  were  worsted,  wrong  would  triumph; 
Held  we  fall  to  rise,  are  baffled  to  light  better,  sleep  to  wake." 


DR.  WOLF  IN  THE  LUTHERAN  CHURCH. 

BY  re;v.  w.  e.  parson,  d.  d. 

Carlyle,  in  his  life  of  John  Sterling,  says : — 

"A  true  delineation  of  the  smallest  man,  and  his  scene  of 
pilgrimage  through  life,  is  capable  of  interesting  the  greatest  man." 

This  it  is  that  makes  biography  the  most  entertain- 
ing form  of  history.  How  much  more  true  must 
Carlyle's  dictum  become  when  we  look  at  the  life  of  one 
who  helped  to  make  history. 

Rev.  Edmund  Jacob  Wolf,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  was  a 
writer  of  history,  a  teacher  of  history,  and  himself  a 
great  part  of  the  history  of  our  Lutheran  Church  in 
recent  times.  Therefore  "his  scene  of  pilgrimage 
through  life"  must  have  especial  interest. 

Dr.  Wolf  was  born  December  8,  1840,  in  Centre 
County,  Pennsylvania.  He  came  of  earnest  Lutheran 
parentage,  and  was  from  his  childhood  a  son  of  the 
Church  to  which  he  gave  all  the  years  of  his  mature 
life. 

After  the  usual  preparatory  training  in  the  public 
schools,  and  in  a  local  academy,  he  entered  the  sopho- 
more class  in  Pennsylvania  College,  at  Gettysburg,  Pa. 
The  writer's  acquaintance  with  Dr.  Wolf  began  in 
college  days,  and  continued  without  interruption  to  the 
Tuesday,  January  loth,  when  he  fell  asleep  in  the  faith 
he  so  earnestly  preached. 

(16) 


DR.  WOLF   IN   THE    LUTHERAN   CHURCH.         1 7 

Two  things  stand  out  sharply  in  the  memory  in 
connection  with  Dr.  Wolf's  student  days.  One  is  the 
fact  that  he  was  President  of  the  literary  societv  when 
a  large  number  of  freshmen  were  initiated,  pars  quorum 
fid.  He  was  a  senior,  and  showed  then,  in  his  address 
to  the  initiates,  all  the  intensity  of  soul  and  lofty  ideals 
which  characterized  him  to  the  end.  The  other  inci- 
dent touches  the  innermost  life  of  the  man.  He  was 
but  twenty-three  years  old  at  the  time.  His  room  was 
immediately  overhead,  so  that  the  sound  of  moving  feet 
or  the  voice  of  one  speaking  above  could  be  heard  more 
or  less  distinctly.  There  was  one  voice  that  regularly 
occupied  a  certain  few  moments  of  the  day  in  what 
seemed  to  be  earnest  reading.  A  little  more  careful 
inquiry  disclosed  to  us  that  it  was  Ed.  Wolf  (as  he 
was  called)  at  his  devotions.  The  fervency  of  that 
voice  in  prayer  has  lingered  through  all  these  inter- 
vening years.  He  never  knew  that  we  knew — for,  like 
Moses  of  old,  "He  wist  not  that  his  face  shone."  Dr. 
Wolf  graduated  with  the  first  honor  of  his  class  in 
1863. 

There  were  no  commencement  exercises.  Most  of 
the  class  were  wearing  blue  uniforms,  carrying  guns, 
and  sleeping  in  open  fields,  having  responded  to  the  call 
of  the  Governor  of  the  State  for  troops  to  repel  the 
invading  army  under  Lee.  Soldier  Wolf  was  in  the 
ranks.  True  to  his  impulse,  as  always,  he  joined  with 
a  hundred  other  students,  who  were  the  first  company 
sworn  into  the  service  for  what  was  called  "the  Emer- 
gency." 

Every  member  of  the  Faculty  of  1863  has  gone  the 
2 


l8  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

way  of  all  the  earth  ;  and  now  the  bright,  particular 
star  of  the  class. 

Dr.  Wolf  pursued  his  theological  studies  in  the 
General  Synod  Seminary  at  Gettysburg.  After  a  term 
of  study  in  Germany,  in  the  universities  of  Tiibingen 
and  Erlangen,  the  young  preacher  was  ready  for  his 
work.  He  was  called  to  a  country  parish  in  Turbot- 
ville,  Pa.  In  this  small  village  the  elder  Albert,  father 
of  Doctors  Luther  and  Charles  Albert,  was  living  in 
retirement.  To  him  the  young  pastor  often  resorted 
for  advice  and  counsel  respecting  the  problems  con- 
fronting him.  The  second  and  only  other  church 
served  by  Dr.  Wolf  was  in  the  city  of  Baltimore.  He 
was  called  to  the  Second  Lutheran  Church  of  Baltimore 
in  1866,  and  remained  pastor  until  in  1873  he  was 
called  to  the  Chair  of  Church  History  and  New  Testa- 
ment Exegesis  in  the  Theological  Seminary  of  the  Gen- 
eral Synod  at  Gettysburg,  Pa.  He  received  the  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Divinity  from  Franklin  and  Marshall 
College  in  1876,  and  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws 
from  Wittenberg  College  in  1901.  Dr.  Wolf  was  emi- 
nently worthy  of  these  distinctions.  He  earned  his 
degrees.  As  a  theological  student  and  teacher  of  theo- 
logical students,  he  surely  was  entitled  to  the  Doctor 
Divinitatis.  As  historian,  translator,  contributor  to 
journals,  encyclopedias,  reviews,  and  church  periodi- 
cals, he  richly  earned  the  title  of  Doctor  of  Law.  His 
fugitive  pieces,  contributions  to  non-sectarian  papers, 
editorials  and  unsigned  articles,  if  brought  together, 
would  make  many  volumes. 

He  wrote  a  goodly  volume  some  years  ago,  entitled 


DR.  WOLF  IN  THE  LUTHERAN  CHURCH.    19 

"Lutherans  in  x\merica,"  a  book  which  did  much  to 
make  the  Church  better  known  in  this  country.  He 
was  the  contributor  of  one  vokime  in  the  series  of 
Lutheran  Commentaries,  and  had  just  recently  com- 
pleted the  work  of  translating-  and  publishing  "An 
Exposition  of  the  Gospels  of  the  Church  Year,"  on  the 
basis  of  the  German  work  by  Nebe.  This  is  a  large 
volume  of  nearly  a  thousand  pages,  representing  an 
amount  of  labor  that  could  have  been  possible  to  the 
busy  professor  only  through  the  most  methodical  use 
of  his  time.  It  was  the  last  work  of  his  hands,  fittingly 
inscribed  to  his  wife,  who  aided  in  preparing  the  vol- 
ume for  the  press.  Before  leaving  the  period  of  his 
Baltimore  pastorate,  it  may  be  proper  to  say  a  word  as 
to  the  work  of  Dr.  Wolf  as  pastor  and  preacher. 

By  exchange  of  pulpits,  more  common  years  ago 
than  now,  by  personal  conferences,  and  occasional  cor- 
respondence, the  methods  of  thought  and  work  that 
marked  "his  scene  of  pilgrimage  through  life"  were 
well  known  to  many  of  his  brethren. 

He  was  a  most  faithful  and  conscientious  pastor. 
If  any  criticism  were  to  be  made  on  this  part  of  his 
work,  it  would  be  that  he  was  almost  too  conscientious. 
He  so  fully  followed  the  divine  rule  to  weep  with  them 
that  weep  that  he  exhausted  his  nerve  forces,  and  was 
once  on  the  verge  of  a  physical  l^reakdown.  A  few 
months'  rest  and  vacation  in  Europe  brought  him  back 
to  his  work  completely  healed.  As  an  evidence  of  over- 
conscientiousness  in  Dr.  Wolf,  a  visit  to  his  study  once 
found  him  in  great  anxiety  over  the  spiritual  condition 
of  one  in  his  parish.     There  was  a  sick  man  near  the 


20  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

end  of  his  life,  wholly  unaware  of  his  condition.  Dr. 
Wolf  was  wrestling  with  that  question  which  comes 
often  to  the  faithful  minister,  whether  he  shoukl  plainly 
inform  the  man  of  his  nearness  to  death  that  there 
might  be  time  for  due  preparation. 

"On  my  next  visit,"  he  finally  announced,  "'I  shall 
have  to  speak  out  and  tell  the  man." 

No  doubt  in  the  eternal  world  the  redeemed  soul 
will  seek  out  the  faithful  pastor  and  thank  him  for  his 
conscientious  work.  At  the  time  it  seemed  a  piece  of 
spiritual  surgery  too  cruel. 

As  a  preacher  Dr.  Wolf  was  always  inspiring.  He 
had  something  to  say  in  the  pulpit  that  was  fresh,  in- 
structive, hopeful.  His  pulpit  work  was  well  known  in 
nearly  every  one  of  our  Lutheran  Churches,  as  well  as 
in  other  denominations.  The  subjects  announced  last 
summer  in  one  of  our  Washington  pulpits  supplied  by 
him  will  suggest  the  helpful  character  of  Dr.  Wolf's 
pulpit  ministrations.  These  subjects  were:  "Right 
Triumphant;''  "What  is  Required  of  Believers;" 
"Union  With  Christ." 

One  of  the  most  impressive,  simple,  forceful  Gos- 
pel sermons  it  was  the  privilege  of  the  writer  ever  to 
hear  was  preached  by  Dr.  Wolf  some  years  ago  in  St. 
Mark's  Church,  Hanover,  Pa.  The  subject  was  "The 
Typical  Penitent,"  from  the  text:  "God  be  merciful  to 
me  a  sinner."  He  rung  the  changes,  as  the  Lutheran  i 
doctrine  enjoins,  on  sin,  humiliation,  penitence,  forgive-  / 
ness,  and  all  the  divine  truths  involved  in  Christ's  sal- 
vation. Every  one  in  the  congregation  was  roused  by 
the  intense  earnestness  of  the  preacher's  emphasis  of 


DR.  WOLF  IN  THE  LUTHERAN  CHURCH.    21 

the  deep,   searching  truths   drawn    from   this   familiar 
parable. 

In  many  respects  Dr.  Wolf  was  a  model  preacher, 
but  especially  in  this  that  he  preached  God's  Word,  not 
human  philosophy.  He  preached  the  comforts  of  the 
Scripture  truth  rather  than  the  terrors  of  the  law.  So 
for  about  ten  years  he  gave  himself  to  the  pastor's 
work.  Dr.  Wolf's  real  life-work  was  in  the  profes- 
sor's chair.  He  settled  down  to  the  life  of  a  student 
and  teacher  at  the  age  of  thirty-three,  and  for  nearly 
that  many  years  more  was  one  of  the  most  influential 
forces  in  the  making  of  the  pastors  for  our  General 
Synod  Churches.  Yet  it  must  be  remembered  that  the 
sphere  of  Dr.  Wolf's  influence  was  not  limited  to  the 
school  where  he  taught.  He  reached  into  all  our 
schools,  by  both  voice  and  pen.  He  had  lectured  at 
Wittenberg;  and  only  a  few  weeks  before  his  death 
had  been  out  as  far  as  Kansas  City,  to  assist  in  work 
that  came  to  him  by  reason  of  his  office  as  President 
of  the  General  Synod. 

Dr.  Wolf,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  was  the  senior 
member  of  the  Faculty  in  the  Theological  Seminary  at 
Gettysburg.  His  hold  upon  the  students  was  strong 
both  as  teacher  and  man.  The  young  men  had  con- 
fidence in  him.  They  went  to  him  with  their  perplexi- 
ties. They  found  in  him  a  friendly,  sympathetic  and 
safe  counsellor.  To  those  who  did  not  fully  know  his 
inner  thought  he  may  at  times  have  seemed  harsh  and 
over-exacting.  But,  as  often  happens  with  positive 
natures,  there  was  an  inner  court  to  the  temple  of  the 
soul,  where  all  was  gentle,  forgiving,  sympathetic.   The 


22  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

sense  of  honor  was  large  in  Dr.  Wolf,  and  he  stood  in 
the  Church  as  the  most  uncompromising  Lutheran. 
Every  position  he  took  was  held  tenaciously  through 
conviction.  To  some  his  views  seemed  extreme,  but 
even  his  opposers  always  were  willing  to  grant  that  his 
views  were  so  carefully  framed  and  so  honestly  held 
that  there  could  be  no  yielding  except  through  a  change 
JH  conviction. 

He  seemed  to  many  to  be  a  partisan.  In  one  sense 
he  was.  If  by  the  term  we  mean  a  man  always  holding 
to  his  own  party,  always  standing  by  his  convictions ; 
always  willing  to  sacrifice  himself  for  his  convictions ; 
always  talking  and  preaching  his  particular  ideas  of 
the  truth ;  always  arrayed  against  any  other  conflicting 
views;  always  trying  to  convert  the  other  man  from 
the  error  of  his  ways ;  always  voting  for  the  man  of  his 
own  school,  and  writing  letters  to  see  that  all  others 
were  wide  awake  to  vote  the  same  way ;  if  these  things 
make  the  partisan,  then  was  Dr.  Wolf  a  partisan.  But 
he  was  not  offensive  in  his  partisanship.  He  fought  a 
fair  battle  in  the  open  field,  keeping  himself  so  true  that 
his  antagonist  must  give  him  full  credit  for  the  high 
honor  in  which  he  held  all  his  ideas  of  truth ;  for  the 
loyalty  he  showed  to  friends,  and  the  fairness  he 
showed  to  his  opponents. 

An  instance  of  the  exalted  sense  of  honor  which 
moved  him  was  once  seen  in  the  Maryland  Synod,  at  a 
meeting  held  in  St.  Paul's  in  Washington,  D.  C.  The 
question  before  the  Synod  was  whether  the  members 
of  the  Synod  had  made  themselves  individually  liable 
in  voting  aid  to  the  Memorial  Church  to  the  extent  of 


DR.  WOLF  IN  THE  LUTHERAN  CHURCH.    23 

five  thousand  dollars.  There  was  a  disposition  on  the 
part  of  some  of  the  members  of  Synod  to  evade  the 
responsibility.  When  Dr.  Wolf  rose  to  discuss  the 
question,  though  not  always  agreeing  with  the  pastor 
of  the  Memorial  Church  on  general  church  questions, 
he  quickly  brushed  aside  all  the  specious  arguments  of 
those  who  would  shirk  their  obligations,  and  in  wither- 
ing words  held  up  to  rebuke  such  a  disposition  among 
his  brethren.  "As  for  me,"  he  said,  ''I  count  it  a  per- 
sonal obligation,  against  which  I  set  everything  that  I 
have  until  this  Synod  meets  its  pledge." 

Dr.  Wolf's  view  prevailed — the  pledge  was  met, 
paid,  and  the  Memorial  completed. 

The  editor  of  the  Lutheran  World  very  truly 
described  Dr.  Wolf,  and  the  liberality  of  the  man,  in 
these  words : — 

"Like  most  men  of  real  convictions,  he  was  some- 
times misunderstood,  but  not  by  those  who  came  to 
know  him  well.  He  held  fast  by  his  convictions,  but 
was  withal  one  of  the  most  tractable  men  we  have 
known.  He  could  contend  with  vigor  for  his  convic- 
tions when  occasion  demanded,  but  his  friends  knew 
him  always  also  as  a  most  humble  and  modest  child  of 
God." — [Lutheran  World,  Jan.  19,  1905.] 

It  was  a  rare  honor  he  had,  to  be  permitted  for 
thirty  full  years  and  more  to  influence  the  minds  of  the 
young  men  who  went  out  to  mould  the  thousand  other 
minds  to  whom  they  ministered.  His  students  are  on  the 
roll  of  our  Home  Mission  force;  they  are  in  the  For- 
eign Mission  work;  they  are  in  influential  pulpits;  in 
humble  places  such  as  their  teacher  first  occupied  ;  some 


24  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

of  them  became  teachers  in  turn,  and  so  the  work  of 
one  became  the  cumulative  work  of  many.  In  this 
sense  we  might  say  that  a  thousand  representatives  are 
left  to  carry  on  the  unfinished  work  which  this  good 
soldier  of  Jesus  Christ  has  thus  far  so  nobly  advanced. 

In  addition  to  his  other  duties,  Dr.  Wolf  sei  ved 
on  many  standing  committees  of  the  General  S\nod. 
He  was  for  years  chairman  of  the  joint  committee  of 
the  General  Synod,  General  Council,  and  United  v^ynod 
of  the  South,  which  prepared  the  Common  Service,  the 
Ministerial  Acts,  the  Catechism,  and  is  at  work  on 
the  common  Hymnal.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was 
engaged  on  the  work  of  the  Inier-Church  Ci  nference 
on  Marriage  and  Divorce,  expecting  to  prt  ss  the  sub- 
ject at  the  recent  General  Synod.  He  was  truly  abund- 
ant in  labors,  yet  showed  no  outward  signs  of  weari- 
ness. Though  the  years  ran  on,  Dr.  Wolf  (I'd  not  seem 
to  grow  old.  He  changed  with  the  passing  time  less 
than  any  man  of  his  generation,  seeming  alert  in  mind, 
youthful  in  spirit,  strong  in  body.  In  outward  appear- 
ance he  seemed  to  be  the  same  as  when  he  followed  the 
flag  forty  years  before ;  the  same  as  when  he  served  his 
country  parish ;  the  same  as  when  he  was  the  energetic 
pastor  in  Baltimore ;  the  same  as  when  he  entered  upon 
his  duties  in  the  professor's  chair,  thirty  years  before ; 
the  same  as  two  years  ago,  when  he  was  elected  Presi- 
dent of  the  General  Synod  in  the  city  of  Baltimore. 

On  the  day  of  his  funeral,  January  13th,  1905, 
nearly  a  hundred  of  his  brethren  in  the  mmistry  gath- 
ered at  Gettysburg  in  the  College  Church  to  do  honor 
to  his  memory.     He  was  buried  in  the  beautiful  ceme- 


DR.  WOLF  IN  THE  LUTHERAN  CHURCH.    25 

tery  of  the  town,  on  top  of  the  ridge  where  sleep  thou- 
sands of  his  comrade  soldiers. 

Our  sympathies  go  out  to  the  stricken  family.  The 
whole  church  will  be  the  poorer  for  his  sudden  taking 
off.  No  doubt  he  had  already  fixed  in  his  mind  some 
of  the  things  he  meant  to  say  in  the  opening  sermon  at 
the  convention  of  the  General  Synod  at  Pittsburg.  But 
his  work  was  done.  The  hospitable  house,  erected  by 
his  efforts,  is  empty  of  its  master;  the  chair  so  ably 
filled  is  vacant ;  the  pulpits  accustomed  to  his  eloquent 
words  must  wait  for  another  voice. 

The  tree  falls.  The  forest  waves  on  for  genera- 
tions. The  preacher,  teacher,  true  friend  and  brother 
departs,  but  the  Church  he  served  abides,  made  more 
beautiful  and  fruitful  bv  reason  of  his  labors. 


SERMONS. 


I.    THE  HIGHER  ROCK. 

Lead  me  to  the  rock  that  is  higher  than    I. — Ps.  Ixi.   2. 

It  was  a  noble  conception  which  led  His  ancient 
chosen  people  to  sing  of  God  as  their  rock.  In  the 
earliest  records  of  their  faith  this  similitude  of  strength, 
security,  grandeur  and  durability  was  to  them  a  favor- 
ite symbol  of  Jehovah — first  impressed  upon  their 
minds,  perchance,  when  on  their  march  they  encamped 
before  the  awful  cliff  of  Sinai,  towering  majestically 
against  the  sky.  Such  an  eternal  rock  w-as  the  God 
of  the  Covenant.  With  this  symbol  they  often  com- 
bined the  idea  of  an  impregnable  military  defense.  The 
cry  for  the  rock  is  followed  in  the  text  by  the  testimony 
"Thou  hast  been  a  shelter  unto  me,  a  strong  tower  from 
the  enemy."  And  again  "The  Lord  is  my  rock  and  my 
fortress,"  "The  Rock  of  My  Refuge."  "He  only  is 
my  rock  and  salvation,  my  defense."  The  Psalmist, 
addressing  Jehovah,  calls  Him  outright  "the  God  of 
the  rock  of  my  salvation." 

This  title  of  God  must  have  had  a  sublime  mean- 
ing in  the  worship  of  the  inspired  liturgy.  It  forms 
the  keynote  of  many  of  the  richest  songs  of  Zion.  The 
mighty  attributes  of  the  God  of  Israel,  His  righteous- 
ness, truth,  power,  and  faithfulness  are  bodied  forth 
in  the  immovable,  indissoluble,  unchangeable  rock, 
which  pierces  the  clouds.  And  this  yearning  for  the 
higher  rock,  formulated  in  our  text,  is  the  sighing  of 
the    soul    for   God,    the    hungering   of   our   innermost 

(29) 


30  THE   HIGHER   ROCK. 

nature  for  a  being  that  is  above  its  range,  the  irrepres- 
sible attestation  of  the  heart  to  a  higher  and  a  divine 
power.  It  is  but  another  form  of  the  prayer  which 
occurs  so  often  in  the  Psalter,  "Unto  Thee  will  I  cry, 
O  Lord,  my  rock,"  Ps.  xxviii.  i.  It  is  more  than  a  peti- 
tion of  the  Psalmist.  It  is  a  cry  of  humanity.  It  is 
the  inspired  embodiment  of  a  prayer  that  rises  from  the 
heart  of  the  race.  It  is  the  outflow  of  one  of  those 
instincts  which  make  the  whole  world  kin.  It  is  a 
universal  prayer. 

Carefully  analyzed  these  words  articulate : 

I.  the:  universal  consciousness  op  a  supreme  being. 

The  sense  of  a  higher  power  is  one  of  the  marks  of 
our  species.  The  existence  of  God  is  one  of  those 
essential  truths  which  somehow  are  revealed  to  every 
mind.  The  conviction  that  there  is  something  superior 
to  man,  something  greater,  higher,  wiser,  the  conscious- 
ness of  a  supreme,  all-embracing  power,  is  found 
wherever  the  human  race  is  found.  Co-extensive  with 
humanity  prevails  the  idea  that  behind  the  visible  lives 
the  invisible,  back  of  the  natural  reigns  the  supernat- 
ural, above  the  transitory  abides  the  eternal,  transcend- 
ing the  phenomenal  world  dwells  the  absolute,  the  Most 
High. 

The  thought  is  indeed  not  always  present,  even  in 
the  purest  minds,  but  let  the  soul  pause  in  its  distract- 
ing pursuits,  and  it  will  be  found  that  down  in  its  deep- 
est recesses  the  sense  of  God  overshadows  it. 

Again,  the  thought  may  not  always  be  vivid  or 
lofty,  the  conception  may,  from  the  nature  of  men's 


THE    HIGHER   ROCK.  3I 

minds,  often  be  confused,  vague,  obscure,  distorted. 
Men  may  have  base,  grovelling  notions  of  God,  but  the 
idea  itself  is  stamped  inefifaceably  upon  the  conscious- 
ness as  the  image  of  the  sovereign  is  cast  upon  the  coin. 
And  however  insensible  men  may  at  times  appear  to 
the  solemn  truth ;  however  heedless  to  its  awful  signifi- 
cance— in  moments  of  extremity,  when  groaning  under 
a  great  sorrow,  startled  by  a  dreadful  calamity,  or 
brought  face  to  face  with  death,  the  slumbering  con- 
sciousness is  wakened  and  the  vision  of  the  eternal 
rests  upon  the  soul. 

The  most  benighted  and  depraved  heathen  have  a 
feeling  of  awe  before  some  mysterious  and  undefined 
power,  a  power  not  themselves,  a  higher  rock,  and 
altars  to  the  great  "unknown"  are  found  smoking 
wherever  the  foot  of  man  has  trod.  The  religious 
instinct  is  a  part  of  our  nature,  that  part  in  fact  which 
alone  distinguishes  human  nature  from  the  irrational 
species.  Religious  worship  is  the  distinctive  human 
faculty,  and  it  is  essential  to  the  completeness  of  the 
mind  of  man  as  is  reason  or  sensibility.  This  lofty 
faculty,  this  attribute  of  worship,  points  to  an  object  of 
worship,  to  a  higher  rock,  something  above  man,  on 
which  he  is  dependent  and  to  which  he  is  accountable. 

Whence  this  conviction  comes,  whether  it  be  innate 
or  connate,  an  instinct  or  an  intuition,  the  remains  of 
a  primitive  revelation,  or  the  result  of  a  process  of 
reasoning,  I  care  not  to  discuss  here  or  now.  That  is  a 
question  for  philosophers  and  theologians.  The  fact 
itself,  the  universal  presence  of  this  feeling,  admits  of 
no  question,  however  men  may  differ  as  to  its  origin. 


32  THE   HIGHER   ROCK. 

On  this  point  philosophers  and  theologians  are  all 
agreed,  the  foremost  thinkers  uniting  with  the  most 
degraded  specimens  of  the  race  in  the  recognition  of  an 
ultimate  power,  a  persuasion  inseparable  from  their 
very  constitution.  Alike  from  the  highest  realm  of 
thought,  "the  rarefied  atmosphere  of  ideas,"  and  from 
the  lowest  strata  of  rude  conceptions  and  sensuous 
passions,  comes  the  testimony  to  an  unseen,  omnipo- 
tent something. 

All  may  not  designate  this  omnipotent  something 
by  the  same  title,  they  may  not  ascribe  to  it  respectively 
the  same  attributes,  the}'  may  not  agree  in  their  defini- 
tions and  speculations  concerning  the  supreme  arbiter 
of  all  things,  but  the  apprehension  of  His  existence 
belongs  to  the  universal  consciousness.  The  rock  above 
us  casts  His  awful  shadow  over  all.  There  is  no  escape 
from  it.  Constituted  as  we  are,  the  recognition  and 
belief  of  the  divine  existence  is  irresistible.  God  is  left 
nowhere  without  a  witness.  "The  invisible  things  of 
Him  since  the  creation  of  the  world  are  clearly  seen 
*  *  *  even  His  everlasting  power  and  divinity." 
Rom.  i.  20. 

David  Hume  remarked  to  a  philosophical  company 
in  Paris  that  he  had  never  seen  an  atheist.  Men  may 
deny  the  God  of  the  Bible,  may  keep  aloof  from  Chris- 
tian worship,  but  the  veriest  leaders  and  titans  of  skep- 
tical thought  dare  not  disavow  their  belief  in  the  Infi- 
nite and  the  Almighty.  "We  are  driven  by  an  inexor- 
able logic,"  says  Herbert  Spencer,  "to  the  conclusion 
of  a  first  cause,  including  within  itself  all  power,  and 
transcending  all  law." 


THE    HIGHER    ROCK.  33 

^^latthew  Arnold  has  written  some  of  his  most  ele- 
gant periods  on  "the  power  not  ourselves  that  makes  for 
righteousness."  And  even  Renan  writes :  "Under  one 
form  or  another,  God  will  always  stand  for  the  full 
expression  of  our  supersensual  needs."  Frederick  the 
Great  pronounced  it  an  absurdity  to  hold  that  a  person 
possessing  no  such  attributes  could  have  endowed 
man  with  intelligence  and  conscience.  So  Goethe  in  a 
letter  to  Jacobi  admits  that  he  "needs  a  personal  God 
for  his  personal  nature  as  a  moral  and  spiritual  man." 
Surely  no  one  who  reads  the  cathedral  scene  in  Faust, 
in  that  terrible  climax  of  the  judgment  hymn,  when 
the  organ  peals  and  the  choir  sings  and  poor  Gretchen 
feels  the  sinner's  helplessness,  could  conclude  that  this 
Titan  had  lost  the  sense  of  the  eternal.  Beautifully 
has  it  been  said  that  "the  consciousness  of  God  is  the 
transfiguring  thing  in  Emerson."  These  mightiest  of 
human  intellects  "cannot  let  go  the  thought  of  the 
absolutely  perfect  being."  It  is  borne  in  upon  their 
souls  wuth  irresistible  power.  They  are  unanimous 
and  emphatic  in  the  avowal  that  the  existence  of  God 
is  self-evident. 

The  scientific  method  will  not  allow  the  elimina- 
tion of  this  idea  from  the  human  mind.  Of  the  eight 
essential  propositions  of  Theodore  Parker's  absolute 
religion  the  first  declared  "that  man  has  an  instinctive 
intuition  of  the  fact  of  the  divine  existence — the  con- 
sciousness that  there  is  a  God." 

Humanity  is  not  the  climax  of  intelligent  being. 
"The  maker  must  be  more  glorious"  than  the  thing 
made."   Alexander,  Napoleon,  and  others  whose  unex- 

3 


34  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

ampled  exploits  raised  them  to  the  pinnacle  of  power,, 
felt  after  all  their  conquests,  that  there  is  one  whom 
they  could  not  conquer,  that  there  were  heights  they 
could  not  scale,  that  there  was  a  transcendent  energy- 
moulding  their  own  career  and  fixing  their  destiny. 

Socrates,  Plato,  Kant,  Hegel,  Faraday,  Agassiz,, 
men  pushing  their  inquiries  into  the  farthermost 
reaches  of  thought  matter,  peering  into  the  depths 
and  soaring  into  the  heights,  from  every  point  of  their 
observation  beheld  zvith  azve  the  outlines  of  a  rock, 
that  is  higher  than  all ! 

The  universality  of  the  belief  in  God  is  commonly- 
regarded  as  an  invulnerable  proof  of  His  reality.  In^ 
scientific  argument  for  the  divine  existence  this  stands, 
among  the  first.  The  instincts  are  scientifically  accept- 
ed as  proof  of  the  correlate.  The  law  of  correspond- 
ence is  as  true  and  unfailing  as  the  law  of  gravita- 
tion. The  idea  points  to  reality.  The  idea  of  God 
involves  of  necessity  His  real  existence.  A  universal, 
conviction  is  not  a  universal  delusion.  The  voice  of  all 
nations,  tribes  and  tongues,  a  voice  that  sounds  from 
the  deepest,  holiest '  notes  of  the  human  heart,  must 
be  the  voice  of  truth.  The  universality,  the  persist- 
ence of  this  feeling  forms  an  unbroken  and  an  unques- 
tionable attestation  to  God. 

The  consciousness  of  God  must  be  His  revelation 
in  the  soul.  An  idea  graven  upon  the  constitution  of 
man  bespeaks  something  real,  not  an  abstraction,  but 
a  substantial  something,  a  substance  that  towers  over 
all,  a  cliff  unmoved  by  the  surging  sea,  an  enduring 


THE   HIGHER   ROCK.  35 

rock  whose  bosom  is  the  throne  of  the  universe  and 
in  whose  cleft  humanity  finds  refuge  and  peace. 

II.  the;  human  aspiration  after  god. 
Although  the  rock  is  far  above  us,  humanity 
boldly  aspires  to  the  high  and  holy  place.  "Inseparable 
from  the  recognition  of  God,  is  the  inherent  tendency 
to  commune  with  Him."  The  finite  spirit  yearns 
for  an  infinite  good.  So  far  from  being  appalled  by 
sublime  conception  of  the  absolute  power  above  him, 
man  seeks  to  ascend  the  awful  height.  The  universal 
sigh  of  human  hearts  is  "Lead  me  to  the  Rock  that  is 
higher  than  I."  A  craving  for  God  is  among  the  most 
powerful  instincts  of  human  nature.  Man  scorns  to 
be  satisfied  with  all  which  the  world  can  offer  him. 
He  is  the  only  being  that  is  discontented  with  his  lot. 
All  other  creatures  have  peace.  The  desire  of  every 
living  thing  is  satisfied.  They  are  of  the  earth,  earthy 
— and  earthly  things  suffice  for  them,  but  man  is  pos- 
sessed of  an  idea  that  his  destiny  transcends  his  present 
limitations,  and  nothing  earthly  suffices  for  him.  He 
is  incapable  of  peace  as  long  as  the  rock  is  beyond  his 
reach.  The  impulses  of  our  nature  move  us  to  some- 
thing outside  of,  beyond  and  above  ourselves. 

"The  world  can  never  give  the  bliss  for  which  we  sigh." 

Give  man  the  wealth  of  Croesus  and  it  only  aggra- 
vates the  insatiable  lust  for  gold,  lay  the  world  at  his 
feet  and  he  only  longs  for  other  worlds  to  conquer. 
Raise  him  to  the  highest  seats  of  power,  and  he  is 


36  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

Still  heard  crying  "Lead  me  to  the  Rock  that  is  higher 
than  I."  Let  his  faculties  be  enlarged  to  titanic  pro- 
portions, and  he  feels  himself  a  child  with  pebbles, 
standing  upon  the  shore  of  a  fathomless  sea. 

The  text  is  supposed  to  be  the  prayer  of  a  King, 
it  comes  from  out  of  the  midst  of  royal  grandeur, 
pleasure  and  power,  it  is  the  outburst  of  a  mind  itself 
more  splendid  than  its  environment.  Yet  out  of  this 
most  favored  situation  comes  the  cry,  O  for  something 
better,  something  higher !  O  for  the  Rock  that  is 
higher  than  L 

Whatever  our  hearts,  our  attainments,  our  pos- 
sessions, our  advancement,  our  elevation,  the  horizon 
only  widens  and  the  goal  recedes.  Man  never  is,  but 
always  to  be  blest.  His  labor  is  spent  for  that  which 
satisfieth  not.  Employment,  society,  travel,  culture, 
amusement,  all  avail  not  to  still  his  cravings.  The 
dreadful  vacuum,  the  "aching  void"  remains.  He 
yearns  to  see  Him  that  is  invisible.  He  finds  nowhere 
a  substitute  for  God.  The  spirit  cannot  rest  until  it 
touches  the  Infinite.  It  thirsts  for  God,  the  living  God. 
"As  the  hart  panteth  for  the  water  brooks,"  so  panteth 
the  soul  for  the  living  spring  at  the  foot  of  the  rock. 

This  aspiration  may  be  undefined,  unintelligent, 
or  for  the  time  really  obscured  or  latent,  if  not  grossly 
misdirected.  Man  wants  he  knows  not  what.  It  is 
the  vague  character  of  this  craving,  doubtless,  that 
sometimes  goads  man  to  the  wild  pursuit  of  sensible 
objects  in  hope  of  thereby  quenching  this  unrest  of 
the  soul,  attempting  to  fill  with  a  measure  of  the  finite 
the    unmeasured    capacity    for    the    infinite.     But    this 


THE   HIGHER   ROCK.  37 

hunger  is  inarticulate.  You  cannot  impose  upon  it 
stones  for  bread  ! 

You  may,  like  Goethe,  resolve  to  stifle  this  longing 
of  nature,  attempt  as  by  suicidal  means  to  rid  yourself 
of  its  presence,  but  this  can  only  result  in  the  sadder 
desolation  of  your  spirit.  "In  my  seventy-fifth  year," 
says  this  philosopher  and  poet,  this  genius  who  receiv- 
ed the  homage  of  Napoleon,  "I  may  say  that  I  have 
never  had  four  weeks  of  genuine  pleasure.  The  stone 
was  ever  to  be  rolled  up  anew."  "Whatever  peace 
came  and  went  had  no  perpetual  source." 

It  is  to  be  noted,  too,  on  the  other  hand,  that  how- 
ever unpropitious  our  circumstances,  however  forbid- 
ding our  lot,  whatever  successive  waves  of  disappoint- 
ment and  disaster  may  roll  over  our  heads,  man  does 
not  ordinarily  despair.  The  soul's  desolation  only 
deepens  the  consciousness  of  need  and  inflames  the 
longing  for  support  and  solace  from  the  Eternal.  The 
thicker  the  darkness,  the  louder  man's  cry  for  light. 
His  unavailing  struggle  against  a  sea  of  troubles 
drives  him  in  search  of  the  rock  which  in  the  gloom 
peers  high  above  him.  Blinded  by  the  spray,  he  yet 
descries  distinctly  above  the  billowy  main  something 
firm  against  the  waves,  towering  above  the  tempest, 
a  rock  immovable  amid  the  breakers,  a  pillar  of  eternal 
safety,  higher  than  all  around  him,  higher  than  the 
heavens !  And  for  this  rock  he  sighs,  "out  of  the 
depths"  he  cries  unto  the  Lord.  An  instinct  of  his 
nature  prompts  him  to  it,  an  instinct  common  to  all 
races,  tribes  and  tongues.  Men  are  everywhere  found 
seeking  the  Lord,  if  haply  they  may  find  Him.     From 


38  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

the  end  of  the  earth  they  cry  unto  Him,  from  creation's 
verge  men  turn  toward  the  centre  and  source  of  all 
things  !  Wherever  humanity  is  found,  it  is  yearning 
for  the  primordial  rock,  exclaiming  with  the  psalmist, 
"When  shall  I  come  and  appear  before  Him."  "My 
flesh  longeth  for  Him  in  a  dry  and  thirsty  land  where 
no  water  is." 

Like  the  social  instinct  which  longs  for  converse 
with  congenial  spirits,  and  makes  solitude  insuflFerable 
to  a  normal  mind,  we  have  an  affinity  for  God,  a  yearn- 
ing for  fellowship  with  the  Father  of  our  spirits.  A 
sense  within  us  draws  us  toward  the  skies.  Whatever 
the  happiness  of  our  associations,  no  earthly  home  cor- 
responds to  our  ideal,  no  fellow  mortal  is  perfectly  the 
complement  of  my  nature.  Even  in  the  crowd,  in  the 
bosom  of  our  dear  ones,  at  the  social  feast,  the  thought 
of  loneliness  possesses  us,  we  miss  the  absent  One,  we 
would  lean  upon  our  Father's  bosom,  we  pine  for  the 
smile  of  His  face. 

Whether  or  not  we  can  trace  this  instinct  to  its 
ultimate  source  does  not  affect  the  fact  of  its  exist- 
ence. Some  ascribe  it  to  our  sense  of  dependence. 
"Underlying  the  feeling  of  dependence  there  is  a  sense 
of  that  on  which  we  depend.  The  one  feeling  is 
implicated  in  the  other."  Conscious  of  our  impotence 
against  overwhelming  odds,  we  instinctively  reach  out 
for  some  power  to  sustain  us.  As  one  moves  over  the 
shifting  sands,  as  one  realizes  the  uncertainty  and 
insecurity  beneath  him,  he  feels  the  imperative  need 
of  some  firmer  foundation  on  which  he  may  safely 
plant  his  feet.     Finding  no  peace  or  safety  around  us, 


THE    HIGHER    ROCK.  39 

we  turn  to  something  above  us.  Where  all  that  is 
known  proves  worthless  we  fain  lay  hold  of  the  un- 
known. Groaning-  under  pains,  sorrows  and  perplexi- 
ties, the  weary  soul  sighs  for  a  rock  on  which  it 
may  lay  its  burdens  down. 

Certainly  the  consciousness  of  need  ordinarily 
prompts  our  prayers.  "In  my  distress  I  sought  the 
Lord."  "When  my  spirit  was  overwhelmed  within 
me  I  cried  unto  the  Lord."  The  sense  of  my  in- 
sufficiency draws  me  toward  the  all-sufficient.  The 
necessities  of  my  spiritual  nature  reveal  the  need  of 
God.  The  fathomless  void  seeks  to  be  filled.  Aly 
unquenchable  thirst  demands  an  inexhaustible  foun- 
tain. "I  need  Thee  every  hour" — thy  gracious  arm, 
thy  fatherly  heart ! 

The  aspiration  after  communion  with  God  may 
be  due  also  to  a  feeling  that  in  some  way  we  sustain 
a  vital  relation  to  God,  that  somehow  our  own  myster- 
ious being  was  struck  from  the  Rock,  which  now  looms 
so  high  above  us.  By  an  inversion  of  the  law  which 
•makes  water  raised  to  the  clouds  seek  again  its  ocean 
home,  so  the  soul  descended  from  the  skies  seeks 
again  its  native  element.  It  presses  toward  the  rock 
underneath  which  bursts  the  hidden  spring  of  its  own 
life. 

"Man  is  a  God  in  ruins."  The  indestructible  im- 
press of  the  divine  spirit  is  found  upon  the  human 
spirit,  and  some  have  claimed  that  inseparable  from 
the  feeling  of  God  is  the  feeling  of  a  relationship  to 
him.  Certainly  the  bonds  by  which  we  are  drawn  lay 
hold  of  every  part  of  our  spiritual  organism,  the  intel- 


40  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

lect  as  well  as  the  heart ;  and  even  the  conscience  in 
torture  over  sins  committed  against  God  can  find  no 
rest  until  it  attains  to  peace  with  God,  This  is  the 
most  surprising  phenomenon  of  experience,  and  it  is 
the  most  powerful  demonstration  that  the  soul  must 
have  God  for  its  portion.  The  same  anguish  which 
inspires  the  penitent  wnth  an  awful  terror  of  God, 
makes  him  at  the  same  time  cry  out  after  God.  Con- 
science scourges  him  away  from  God,  and  yet  prompts 
him  to  exclaim,  "O  that  I  knew  where  I  might  find 
Him!"  Driven  from  His  presence,  yet  struggling  to 
come  near  Him — that  is  the  sinner's  dilemma.  The 
more  he  is  oppressed  by  his  guilt  the  keener  becomes 
the  thirst  for  God.  Escape  from  the  Judge  of  all  is  pos- 
sible only  by  flying  into  His  arms.  The  awakened  soul, 
the  broken  and  the  contrite  heart  feels  instinctively 
drawn  to  the  heavenly  bosom.  Just  when  we  have  the 
fullest  vision  of  our  fallen  state,  of  the  far-ofif  land  in 
which  we  sojourn,  we  yearn  for  the  home  of  the  soul, 
and  for  communion  with  Him  by  whom  and  for  whom 
we  are  made. 

III.       THE  UNATTAINABLENESS  OF  THIS  COMMUNION   BY 
HUMAN    e;FF0RT. 

The  rock  is  higher  than  I — literally  translated  the 
text  reads  the  Rock  which  is  "too  high  for  me."  I 
may  not  approach  it.  Away  above  in  the  dizzy  heights 
I  descry  the  Infinite,  the  Everlasting  One.  But  I  find 
no  way  to  get  to  Him.  I  have  no  means  of  knowing 
Him.  I  can  have  no  communion  with  Him.  The 
ascent  to  God  is  beyond  my  power.     I  cannot  scale 


THE  high?:r  rock.  41 

tlic  heights.  I  have  no  wings  to  soar.  I  can  con- 
struct no  ladder  on  which  to  mount  to  the  habita- 
tion of  the  Eternal.  I  know  of  no  marble  staircase 
that  leads  to  the  audience  chamber  of  the  Most  High. 
"The  world's  altar  stairs,"  of  which  the  poet  speaks, 
do  indeed  "slope  through  darkness,"  but  they  do  not 
bring  me  to  God. 

With  all  man's  power  over  nature,  and  the  sub- 
serviency of  the  elements  to  his  purpose,  with  all  his 
magnificent  achievements,  he  flutters  like  a  struck  eagle 
upon  the  plain,  incapable  of  soaring  to  his  native  skies 
— unable  to  escape  from  God  and  yet  unable  to  find 
Him.  He  can  cut  a  pathway  through  the  mountains. 
He  can  traverse  the  sea,  he  can  turn  the  elements  into 
chariot  wheels.  He  may  yet  by  his  bold  inventions 
construct  a  highway  to  the  stars,  go  flying  through 
the  ether,  communicate  with  all  the  planets  and  com- 
plete the  annihilation  of  time  and  space,  but  he  cannot 
build  a  way  to  God,  he  cannot  bridge  the  chasm  which 
yawns  between  him  and  the  Rock,  he  cannot  lift  him- 
self to  the  bosom  of  his  Father,  he  cannot  by  search- 
ing find  out  God.  "Thy  way  is  in  the  sea,  and  Thy 
path  in  the  great  waters,  Thy  footsteps  are  not  known." 
"It  is  high  as  heaven,  what  cans't  thou  do;  deeper  than 
hell,  what  cans't  thou  know  ?" 

Here  too  universal  experience  reaches  one  conclu- 
sion. With  the  same  positiveness  with  which  the 
unanimous  voice  of  humanity  declares  that  God  is, 
it  also  declares  that  He  is  unsearchable.  Held  in  awe 
by  the  conviction  of  the  Highest,  man's  futile  efforts 
to  commune  with  Him  have  forced  from  him  the  sigh, 


42  THE   HIGHER   ROCK. 

"Whom   none  can   comprehend,   and  none  explore, 
Being  whom  we  call  God,  and  know  no  more." 

Man  has  surely  sought  to  know  God.  The  bold- 
ness and  persistence  of  his  endeavors  have  yielded  to 
literature  its  richest  treasures,  but  his  uttermost  search- 
ingfs  have  been  like 


"Ships  that  sail   for   Sunny  Isles, 
But  never  come  to  shore." 


Science  and  theology  are  at  one,  the  testimony  of 
revelation  and  that  of  reason.  Herbert  Spencer  in  his 
"First  Principles"  declares  that  "the  power  which  the 
universe  manifests  to  us  is  utterly  inscrutable,"  and 
Martin  Luther  used  language  almost  indentical  with 
this.  The  cultured  Greeks  ignorantly  worshipped  the 
objects  of  their  reverence ;  the  unpolished  Samaritans 
worshipped  they  knew  not  what,  and  now  when  the 
latest  induction  of  science  avows  that  God  is  unknown 
and  unknowable,  it  simply  registers  the  experience  of 
the  universal  heart  in  the  succession  of  ages.  It  is 
nothing  new  that  God  cannot  be  truly  known.  An 
inspired  Apostle  taught  that  God  dwelleth  in  light  that 
is  unapproachable,  whom  no  man  hath  seen,  nor  can 
see,  and  the  Psalmist  by  a  counter  figure  places  Him  in 
the  midst  of  clouds  and  darkness. 

The  stupid  creeds  and  the  revolting  rites  of  super- 
stition are  only  so  many  confirmations  of  the  truth  that 
the  knowledge  of  God  and  communion  wdth  Him  sur- 
pass the  boundaries,  the  resources  and  the  devices  of 
mortal  minds.     Ae-nosticism  is  but  the  inevitable  con- 


THE    HIGHER    ROCK.  43 

fession  that  human  reason  h.as  reached  its  hmits !  It 
cowers  before  an  unattainable  height.  Its  proud  waves 
cannot  rise  to  the  crest  of  the  rock.  Nature  with  all 
her  forces  and  laws  it  can  command  and  overcome,  but 
God  is  above  nature.  Man's  desires  go  struggling 
upward,  but  the  rock  is  too  high. 

"From  all  sides  comes  the  same  confession."  "In 
all  places  we  see  all  sorts  of  men  building  altars  to 
the  unknown  and  unknowable  God."  Every  seeker 
brings  back  the  same  report.  Science  scales  all  heights 
and  sounds  all  abysses,  counts  the  stars,  turns  over 
the  granite  leaves  of  the  globe's  history,  bathes  amid 
the  light  of  the  morning  and  broods  amid  the  shadows 
of  the  evening,  and  comes  back  from  ocean  caverns 
and  mountain  peaks,  from  beds  of  fossils  and  from  the 
silvery  pavement  of  the  milky  way,  with  the  same  un- 
varying message :  "There  are  footprints,  but  He  that 
made  them  could  not  be  found." 

The  heart  sends  out  over  the  waste  of  waters  the 
dove  of  its  tender  feeling,  but  the  wearied  wing  finds 
no  resting  place  on  the  boundless  billow.  The  timid 
bird  hurries  back  to  its  home,  in  its  mouth  no  message 
but  an  olive  branch,  the  symbol  of  peace. 

"With  sturdy  resolution  conscience  goes  forth  to 
sound  the  dim  and  perilous  way.  But  the  scent  is 
lost  amidst  the  jungles  and  rocky  passes  of  the  world. 
Terrified  by  the  glare  of  the  tiger,  the  spring  of  the 
leopard,  the  coil  of  the  serpent,  the  sting  of  the  reptile, 
horror-stricken  by  triumphant  iniquity  and  bleeding 
equity,  shocked  at  seeing  a  Tiberius  on  the  throne  and 
a  Jesus  on  the  cross,     *     *     *     it  loses  the  thread  of 


44  THE   HIGHER   ROCK. 

the  moral  law,  and  recoils  from  the  problems  it  cannot 
confront. 

"Boldest  of  all  the  soul  plumes  her  wings  of  faith 
for  a  flight  to  the  very_empyrearu  Her  pinions  of 
aspiration  bear  her  above  the  earth ;  she  distances  vision 

*  *  *  leaves  time  and  space  behind,  with  open  eye 
looks  steadily  at  the  sun !  But  the  sun  itself  is  a 
shadow.     Light  there  is,  a  shoreless  ocean  of  light, 

*  *  *  On  its  waves  she  floats  serenely;  in  its 
silence  she  rests  at  peace.  But  no  voice  breaks  the 
silence,  no  form  of  creative  Godhead  walks  on  the  sea 
of  Glory,"  Vain,  vain  is  its  search  to  find  the  soft 
bosom  of  the  parent  in  whose  breast  the  child  can 
nestle. 

Most  of  all  does  the  consciousness  of  sin  reveal 
an  impassable  barrier  between  man  and  God.  When 
once  the  sense  of  guilt  can  no  longer  be  stifled,  when 
the  soul  stands  shivering  and  condemned  before  its 
own  bar,  then  it  is  made  to  realize  its  incapacity  for 
communion  with  God.  Conscious  of  its  shame  and 
degradation,  so  far  from  rising  to  God  by  its  own 
powers  as  it  fain  would,  it  finds  itself  sinking  into  the 
dread  abyss.  So  far  from  having  wings  by  which  it 
may  struggle  upward,  it  is  loaded  with  chains  that  drag 
it  down  to  ever  lower  depths,  while  it  calls  out,  O 
wretched  man  that  I  am,  who  shall  deliver  me  ? 

Salvation  is  infinitely  above  us  gleaming  like  an 
Alpine  cliiT  against  the  face  of  the  sky,  whilst  we  are 
toiling  in  the  mire  below,  held  in  terror  by  the  very 
majesty  and  height  of  the  rock.     The  way  to  the  holies 


THE    HIGHER    ROCK.  45 

is  not  open,  though  the  tabernacle  stands  in  view.  We 
may  draw  nigh  to  its  altar  of  blood  and  smoke,  and 
view  our  gifts  and  sacrifices  ascending  by  fire,  but  only 
to  learn  that  we  are  shut  out  from  the  Shekinah  and 
that  no  voice  comes  forth  to  give  us  peace,  only  to 
realize  on  the  one  hand  that  without  holiness  no  man 
can  see  the  Lord,  and  on  the  other  that  in  us  lies  no 
power  to  become  holy,  no  possibility  of  atoning  for 
sin,  no  means  of  eflfecting  reconciliation. 

What  is  there  left  for  the  sinner  but  irremediable 
despair?  Is  not  the  soul  doomed  to  sink  into  an  eter- 
nal abyss,  with  the  everlasting  Father  upon  an  inac- 
cessible throne?  Yet  depair  cannot  be  the  end  of 
existence.  The  soul  cannot  give  up — cannot  surrender 
to  remediless  woe.  Hope  springs  eternal  in  the  breast. 
But  how  is  salvation  possible?  In  what  way  can  I 
get  to  the  Rock?  In  the  way  pursued  by  the  Psalmist 
— the  way  indicated  by  the  text — by  a  supreme  act  of 
faith,  by  an  appeal  for  help. 

IV.      THE  EFFICACY  OF  BEUEVING  PRAYER. 

In  the  agony  of  his  thirst  the  Psalmist  betakes 
himself  to  prayer.  In  the  anguish  of  his  heart  he 
exclaims,  Lead  me  to  the  Rock  that  is  higher  than  I. 
As  he  comes  to  the  realization  of  his  own  impotence 
and  of  his  desperate  needs,  he  sends  out  over  the  dark 
expanse  a  loud  but  distinct  shriek  for  relief.  Aban- 
doning his  own  futile  struggles  he  makes  an  afifecting 
and  effectual  appeal  that  a  line  for  his  rescue  may  be 
thrown  from  the  Rock.     Lead  me  to  it,  he  cries,  lift 


46  THE   HIGHER    ROCK. 

me  up  the  way  my  feet  cannot  tread.  Do  for  me  what 
is  beyond  my  powers,  take  me  to  the  bos:m  of  ihe 
Rock. 

Some  minds  are  perplexed  about  the  rationale  of 
prayer.  What  else  is  a  man  to  do  ?  What  else  can  he 
do?  What  is  more  natural  in  an  extremity  than  to 
pray?  How  can  one  help  praying,  calling  for  help, 
when  his  hold  is  giving  way  and  the  abyss  yawns 
beneath?  Prayer  is  the  instinct  of  distress — man's 
only  refuge  from  despair. 

"When  other  helpers  fail,  and  comforts  flee, 
Help  of  the  helpless,  O  come  jiear  to  me." 

Prayer  is  the  most  rational  act  of  the  mind,  the  most 
logical  as  it  is  the  necessary  outcome  of  human  reason- 
ing. Given  these  three  conditions,  the  sense  of  a 
supreme  power,  an  inborn  aspiration  for  communion 
with  that  power,  and  the  realization  of  our  inability 
to  rise  to  that  spiritual  height,  and  the  inexorable  con- 
clusion is  prayer.  That  Rock  is  mightier  than  I  am, 
this  thirst  of  my  soul  is  destined  to  be  satisfied.  My 
own  inability  is  itself  a  prophecy  of  aid  from  without. 
Hence  we  are  driven  to  implore  the  aid  where  alone 
it  can  be  found. 

Once  roused  from  the  stupor  so  common  to  the 
thoughtless,  once  seeing  his  little  boat  filling  up  with 
the  sea,  man  will  not  go  down  without  crying,  "Lord, 
save,  I  perish."  H  there  is  no  help  in  me  nor  in  the 
wide  world  around  me  there  may  be  help  in  Him.  If 
my  arm  is  too  short  to  reach  up,  I  am  sure  His  is  long 
enough  to  reach  down.     Mv  resources  are  exhausted 


THE    HIGHER    ROCK.  47 

in  searching  for  Him.  Surely  His  resources  are  inex- 
haustible. If  God  cannot  be  known  from  any  data  I 
possess,  that  does  not  debar  Him  from  making  Him- 
self known.  I  cannot  go  to  Him.  Nothing,  however, 
can  preclude  Him  from  coming  to  me.  Clouds  and 
darkness  veil  Him  from  my  vision,  but  He  can  lift  the 
veil  and  let  me  see  His  face. 

I  have  no  firm  base  on  which  to  plant  a  ladder 
wherewith  to  ascend,  but  a  ladder  may  be  thrown  to 
me  from  the  crest  of  the  rock.  The  knowledge  of 
God,  like  every  other  good  and  perfect  gift,  is  from 
above.  Salvation  is  of  the  Lord,  The  grace  that 
redeems  us  must  come  from  the  skies.  Atonement 
and  pardon,  renew^al  and  sanctification  are  the  work  of 
divine  mercy.  Man  must  be  saved  by  a  power  not 
himself,  lifted  to  the  summit  of  the  Rock  by  the  arm 
of  omnipotence. 

Brought  by  faith  to  the  apprehension  of  this,  the 
human  soul  betakes  itself  to  prayer.  In  the  darkness 
it  calls  for  light,  in  its  overwhelming  sense  of  weak- 
ness it  begs  for  strength,  in  the  bitterness  of  guilt  it 
cries  for  pardon,  in  the  thirst  for  righteousness  it 
pleads  for  an  atoning  sacrifice  and  a  renewing  spirit. 
in  the  face  of  death  it  seeks  the  ultimate  fountain  of 
life. 

"Lead  me  to  the  Rock  that  is  higher  than  I"  is 
the  expression  not  only  of  a  universal  belief,  of  a  uni- 
versal aspiration,  and  of  a  universal  confession,  but 
also  of  a  universal  prayer. 

The  prayer  is  heard.  The  answer  is  here.  God 
has  mercifully  anticipated  the  yearnings  of  our  being. 


48  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

He  has  provided  against  our  inability  of  rising  to  Him. 
He  has  not  remained  beyond  the  stars  unknown  and 
at  an  infinite  distance.  He  has  come  near  to  us.  Before, 
we  called  a  response  came  from  the  skies,  a  revelation 
of  His  face  and  of  His  heart.  Through  Moses  and  the 
prophets  the  veil  was  in  part  removed.  But  through 
the  only  begotten  Son  the  fullness  of  the  Godhead 
appeared  among  men  in  bodily  form.  The  word  of 
the  Eternal  was  made  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us.  The 
divine  has  appeared  under  human  conditions  and  men 
beholding  Him  were  made  to  sing : 

"Mine  eyes  have  seen  the  salvation  of  the  Lord." 

God  was  manifested  in  Jesus  Christ.  He  that  hath 
seen  Him  hath  seen  the  Father,  and  he  that  hath  the 
Son  hath  the  Father  also,  and  holds  fellowship  with 
Him  through  the  Spirit.  The  Gospel  is  the  response 
to  the  prayer  of  the  text.  It  answers  the  yearning  of 
the  soul.  He  that  drinketh  of  this  fountain  shall  never 
thirst  again.  We  could  not  rise  up  to  the  Rock  but 
the  Rock  has  moved  down  to  us,  descending  into  the 
depths  of  human  woe.  While  a  shoreless  and  tem- 
pestuous sea  surges  between  man  and  his  Maker,  while 
with  all  his  craving  to  pass  over  this  great  deep  he 
has  no  ship  that  will  bear  him  across,  no  compass  to 
point  the  course,  and  no  chart  by  which  to  steer,  there 
comes  in  the  middle  of  the  night  a  bright  form  walk- 
ing calmly  on  the  angry  waves,  stilling  the  tempest, 
and  calling  to  the  afifrighted  soul,  "It  is  I,  be  not 
afraid." 

It  is  the  Rock  itself,  the  Rock  not  cold  and  hard 


THE    HIGHER    ROCK.  49 

and  high  and  inaccessible.  It  has  a  hving  face  aglow 
with  love.  It  has  eyes  beaming  tenderness,  it  has  ears 
which  note  the  feeblest  pulsations  of  my  being,  it  has 
a  mouth  from  which  comes  words  of  power,  it  has  arms 
reaching  down  into  the  deepest  mystery.  It  has  a 
soft  bosom  on  which  the  weary  soul  may  rest.  O  the 
Rock  is  as  sweet  as  it  is  firm  and  sure !  I  look  into 
that  face  and  it  gives  me  peace.  I  behold  those  fatherly 
eyes  and  their  recognition  is  the  pledge  of  my  sonship. 
I  pour  my  wants  and  sorrows  into  His  ears  and  I  feel 
the  throbs  of  infinite  mercy.  I  hear  His  heavenly  voice 
and  I  know  that  all  is  well.  I  reach  out  to  grasp  a 
hand  from  heaven,  and  lo !  beneath  me  are  the  ever- 
lasting arms ! 


II.  THE  THIRD  SUNDAY  IN  ADVENT. 

Art  Thou  He  that  should  come,  or  look  we  for  another? — Matt.  xi.  3. 

The  greatest  of  prophets  stumbhng  over  the  object 
of  His  prophecy,  the  herald  of  the  Messiah  doubting- 
the  identity  of  His  personaHty  !  Surely  such  an  inquiry 
is  at  first  glance  calculated  to  stagger  believers,  though 
on  the  other  hand  this  most  extraordinary  question 
has  drawn  various  satisfactory  solutions  from  exposi- 
tors. 

To  some  it  simply  indicates  doubt  whether  the  mar- 
vellous works  of  which  John  had  heard  in  prison  were 
wrought  really  by  Jesus,  or  by  some  other  one.  Who  is 
the  person  of  whom  he  heard  such  wonderful  accounts? 
This  was  actually  the  question  in  the  public  mind. 
Some :  Elijah,  possibly  Jeremiah,  or  some  other  prophet 
risen  from  the  dead.  John  learning  in  his  dungeon 
of  this  diversity  of  judgment  seeks  to  ascertain  for 
himself  whether  it  was  another  reformer  or  prophet 
that  wrought  these  works,  or  whether  really  the  Christ 
Himself  on  whom  he  had  seen  the  Holy  Ghost  alight 
was  stirring  up  the  people  ?  Then  the  answer  returned 
would  have  been :  It  is  Jesus  Himself  who  is  doing^ 
these  things,  not  some  other  great  one.  Or,  the  in- 
quiry was  made  by  John  in  behalf  of  his  own  disciples. 
Strong  in  their  attachment  to  their  master,  they  were 
slow  to  become  followers  of  Jesus.  They  showed  jeal- 
ousy over  his   popularity,   party   strife   was   brewing,. 

(50) 


THE   THIRD   SUNDAY    IN    ADVENT.  5 1 

and  they  felt  a  growing  prejudice  aginst  the  spirit  of 
Jesus,  whose  freedom  and  cheerfulness  and  fondness 
for  social  intercourse  antagonized  the  ascetic  rigor  of 
their  master.  Thus  while  it  was  the  specific  aim  of 
John  to  make  followers  for  Jesus,  his  most  loyal  dis- 
ciples w^ere  standing  aloof  from  Him  as  if  He  were 
a  competitor.  Instead  of  joining  the  Bridegroom  they 
hold  on  to  His  friend,  and  the  disciples  of  him  who 
was  but  the  forerunner  of  Him  that  was  to  come,  are 
forming  a  rival  camp.  John  perceives  the  growing 
danger,  and  hearing  of  some  great  miracles  of  Jesus 
sends  several  of  their  number  to  the  spot  in  order  that 
by  ocular  proofs  they  may  be  convinced  of  His  Mes- 
siahship  and  transfer  their  allegiance  to  Him.  But 
Luke  says :  The  disciples  of  John  sliozved  him  all  these 
things.  From  which  w'e  conclude  that  it  was  not  the 
unbelief  of  his  disciples,  but  his  own  wavering  faith 
which  prompted  the  inquiry  of  the  text,  and  that  our 
Lord's  answer  was  directed  to  John  and  not  intended 
primarily  for  the  benefit  of  his  disciples. 

The  interpretation  most  naturally  drawn  from  the 
narrative  is  that  the  Baptist  himself  was  really  stag- 
gering, that  sore  doubts  for  the  time  overpowered  the 
mind  of  one  who  was  more  than  a  prophet,  that  after 
all  his  revelations,  experiences  and  attestations  his 
faith  suffered  a  temporary  eclipse.  Like  Paul,  who 
after  preaching  to  others  felt  it  possible  to  be  a  cast- 
away himself,  the  forerunner  whose  special  mission 
it  was  to  bear  testimony  to  Christ  and  to  prepare  the 
w^ay  for  Him,  now  that  Christ  has  come  and  is  rally- 
ing the  multitude,  is  himself  w'avering  in  his  faith. 


52  THE   HIGHER   ROCK. 

The  gloom  of  John's  prison,  the  injustice  and  pri- 
vations he  was  suffering,  and  the  prospect  of  an  early 
and  violent  death  would  naturally  tend  to  work  in  a 
mind  like  his  melancholy  broodings,  painful  appre- 
hensions and  pessimistic  doubts.  So  that  he  really 
fell  into  suspense  concerning  '"the  proper  and  full  Mes- 
siahship  of  Jesus." 

This  is  indeed  somewhat  astounding.  We  have 
seen  John  stand  like  a  wall  of  adamant  in  the  face  of 
opposition.  His  courageous  deliverances  to  Herod 
brought  him  into  prison.  Has  he  now  become  a  reed 
shaken  by  the  wind?  He  had  with  his  own  eyes  seen 
the  Spirit  of  God  descending  upon  Jesus  and  abiding 
upon  Him,  he  had  with  his  own  ears  heard  the  voice 
of  God  from  heaven,  saying,  This  is  My  beloved  Son, 
in  whom  I  am  well  pleased.  He  had  pointed  Him  out 
as  the  Lamb  of  God.  Can  it  be  that  he  distrusts  his 
-own  eyes  and  ears?  Oh  the  dreadful  power  of  un- 
belief! Who  is  fortified  against  the  assaults  of  tempt- 
ation? The  weakness  of  man,  though  advanced  in 
grace,  exposes  him  to  doubt  even  under  the  most  favor- 
able circumstances.  And  the  wiles  of  the  devil  are 
such  as  to  make  man  not  only  disbelieve  the  word  of 
God,  but  even  to  distrust  his  own  senses.  Is  it  really 
more  unreasonable  to  doubt  our  own  consciousness 
than  to  doubt  the  word  of  our  Creator  ? 

Look  into  God's  word  and  into  the  mirror  of 
human  experience,  and  as  astonishing  as  such  a  lesion 
of  faith  may  appear,  it  is  so  far  from  being  abnormal 
that  it  is  actully  to  have  been  expected. 

The  sacred  record  contains   a   shining  catalogue 


THK  THIRD  SUNDAY  IN  ADVENT.       53 

of  the  heroes  of  faith,  but  it  furnishes  not  a  patriarch 
nor  a  prophet,  nor  apostle,  in  whom  the  light  was  not 
at   times   almost   quenched.     Abraham,   the    father   of 
believers,  gave  way  to  unbelief ;  Moses,  the  most  faith- 
ful servant  of  God,  was  overborne  by  the  same  weak- 
ness; David,  the  man  after  God's  own  heart,  became 
a  victim  of  his  passions ;  Elijah  yielded  to  despair  and 
begged  that  his  life  might  be  taken.     The  same  tragic 
experience   runs   through   the   New   Testament.      The 
Apostles  were  greater  than  John,  yet  each  and  all  had 
their    fierce   temptations,    their   terrible    conflicts    with 
the  powers  of  darkness,  before  and  after  Pentecost. 
Mary,  the  holy  virgin  mother,  had  a  sword  pierce  her 
own  heart,  and  found  that  the  public  excitement  was 
unsettling  her  Son's  mind.    There  is  nothing  impossi- 
ble, incredible  or  unparalleled  in  this  temporary  obscur- 
ation of  a  believing  consciousness.     Why  should  John 
alone  have  been  exempted   from  such  a  trial?     Why 
should  not  he  win  a  crown  of  life  w^hich  is  promised 
to  all  them  that  endure  temptation?  The  Lord  Himself 
was  not  exempted  from  this  lot  of  His  faithful  follow- 
ers.   Even  He  had  His  forty  days  and  forty  nights  of 
struggle  in   the  desert,   facing  the   interrogation,   "If 
Thou  be  the  Son  of  God."     John's  fit  of  despondency 
is  not  so  extraordinary  after  all. 

It  will  be  interesting  to  inquire  what  was  the 
ground  or  the  occasion  for  these  mental  struggles? 
What  offered  Satan  a  handle  by  which  to  direct  his 
assault  on  the  forerunner?  John  had  the  strongest 
proofs  of  Jesus  being  the  Messiah,  and  he  bore  clear 
and  decided  testimony  to  it,  but  this  does  not  imply 


54  'THE   HIGHER   ROCK. 

that  he  had  clear  and  full  enlightenment  as  to  the 
nature  and  full  scope  of  the  Messiah's  reign.  To  pro- 
■claim  that  was  not  a  part  of  his  mission,  and  hence  he 
had  no  revelation  on  that  point.  From  his  study  of 
the  Scriptures  and  from  his  education  and  public  opin- 
ion in  his  day  he  doubtless  had  imbibed  the  idea  of  a 
powerful  temporal  monarchy.  His  views  were  indeed 
more  spiritual  than  those  of  the  Pharisees,  and  in  his 
preaching  he  laid  stress  on  the  moral  element  in  the 
kingdom,  and  the  need  of  moral  reformation  as  a  prep- 
aration to  its  establishment,  yet  he  labored  undoubtedly 
under  the  misconception  which  fixed  the  eye  on  the 
aspects  of  majesty  and  power,  judgment  and  glory  in 
the  Redeemer's  Kingdom.  At  all  events  he  could  not 
reconcile  the  methods  of  Jesus  with  the  picture  which 
he  had  drawn  for  himself. 

The  Jewish  mind  at  that  time  offers  a  remarkable 
example  of  a  whole  nation  or  church  making  a  false 
interpretation  of  the  Scriptures  or  laying  such  empha- 
sis on  one  set  of  truths  as  to  lose  sight  altogether  of 
other  truths. 

The  Messiah's  reign  was  to  be  a  redemption  from 
the  oppression  of  the  conqueror,  from  the  disorders 
under  which  the  nation  groaned ;  salvation  for  the 
righteous,  destruction  for  the  wicked.  It  was  to  be  a 
great  and  dreadful  day,  a  day  that  would  burn  as  an 
oven.  Who  may  abide  the  day  of  His  coming  ?  And  all 
the  proud  and  all  that  do  wickedly  shall  be  stubble,  and 
the  day  that  cometh  shall  burn  them  up,  saith  the  Lord 
of  hosts.  It  was  to  be  to  His  enemies  a  day  of  God's 
^vengeance,  of  His  terrible  wrath.     John  himself  had 


THE   THIRD   SUNDAY    IN    ADVENT.  55 

predicted :  He  shall  baptize  on  the  one  hand  with  the 
Holy  Ghost,  but  on  the  other  hand  with  fire,  and  he 
had  represented  the  Lord  about  to  come  as  haviui^  an 
axe  in  His  hand  cutting  away  the  very  root  of  every 
tree  that  bringeth  not  forth  good  fruit  and  casting  it 
into  the  fire — as  standing  with  a  fan  on  His  threshing 
floor  gathering  His  wheat  into  the  garner  but  burning 
up  the  chaff  with  unquenchable  fire. 

The  prophet  Esaias  and  others  had  indeed  fore- 
told "He  shall  not  strive  nor  cry ;  neither  shall  any 
man  hear  His  voice  in  the  streets.  A  bruised  reed  shall 
He  not  break  nor  quench  the  smoking  flax  till  He  send 
forth  judgment  unto  victory."  But  the  Jews  had  not 
apprehended  those  sweet  and  brighter  passages  con- 
cerning the  gentleness,  the  lowliness,  the  grace  and 
compassion  which  should  mark  Messiah's  Kingdom. 
And  while  John  had  learned  better  the  all-comprehen- 
sive character  of  that  reign,  he  undoubtedly  expected 
judgment  as  well  as  mercy  to  be  exercised,  the  more 
awful  and  more  glorious  features,  as  well  as  the  ele- 
ments of  mildness  and  tenderness  and  love.  The  ERROR 
•of  his  mind  was  the  confusion  of  the  Second  advent 
with  the  first,  the  failure  to  understand  the  perspec- 
tive of  prophecy,  which  embraces  long  intervening 
ages  between  the  advent  in  the  flesh,  to  heal  and  to 
teach,  to  suffer  and  to  die,  and  the  advent  in  glory, 
when  He  shall  come  a  second  time  without  sin  unto  sal- 
vation to  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead,  and  to  put  all 
His  enemies  under  His  feet. 

John  expected  a  sudden,  glorious,  overwhelming 
crisis,  a  crisis  of  judgment  as  well  as  of  grace.     How 


56  THE   HIGHER    ROCK. 

different  the  issue !  All  things  continue  about  as  they 
were  before.  The  Romans  still  defile  the  Holy  City, 
Herod  keeps  on  the  throne,  an  adulteress  shares,  op- 
pression is  rife,  iniquity  abounds.  The  Pharisees  still 
stalk  in  their  hypocrisy  and  make  their  long  prayers. 
His  own  activity  is  abruptly  brought  to  a  close.  The 
prophet,  if  not  stoned,  is  languishing  in  prison,  and  the 
supposed  Messiah  raises  no  hand  for  his  deliverance. 
He  is  indeed  working  many  and  great  miracles,  but 
they  are  confined  to  healing  diseases;  to  deeds  of  mercy, 
to  the  relief  of  individual  misery  or  momentary  want. 
There  are  no  signs  of  a  movement  on  a  larger  scale, 
no  deeds  of  power  with  a  national  import.  Only  in 
a  humble,  unobtrusive  way  is  Jesus  gathering  a  com- 
pany of  followers,  teaching  them  the  rudiments  of 
spiritual  life  and  exemplifying  the  law  of  disinterested 
kindness. 

Where  is  the  other  side,  the  judgment  upon  the 
wicked,  the  overthrow  of  unrighteousness,  the  righting 
of  the  wrongs  of  men  ?  What  can  it  mean  ?  Instead 
of  fire  and  storm,  thunder  and  destruction,  we  hear 
nothing  but  the  still  small  voice  of  grace  and  goodness. 
Power  that  could  crush  all  unrightousness  is  expended 
in  healing  sick  bodies  and  comforting  disturbed  minds. 
This  is  the  stumbling  block!  He  has  not  surrendered 
to  unbelief.  He  has  not  given  up  hope.  He  is  not 
an  apostate. 

The  very  fact  that  he  makes  inquiry  of  Jesus  him- 
self concerning  whom  he  doubts,  shows  after  all  a 
belief  stronger  than  his  unbelief,  a  faith  prevailing  over 
doubts. 


THE  THIRD  SUNDAY  IN  ADVENT.       57 

The  heavenly  Father  will  not  suffer  us  to  be 
tempted  above  that  we  are  able.  He  sets  bounds  to 
the  ordeal,  and  with  the  temptation  He  also  and 
always  makes  a  way  to  escape,  that  ye  may  be  able  to 
bear  it !  There  is  relief  for  the  troubled  mind.  There 
is  a  solvent  for  despondency.  John's  is  a  case  of  hon- 
est doubt,  of  real  perplexity,  of  heartfelt  fears.  This 
does  not  lead  him  away  from  Jesus.  Because  of  the 
things  that  stagger  him,  he  does  not  cast  away  the 
things  that  comfort  and  sustain  him.  Because  his 
mind  encounters  difficulties  in  connection  with  Christ, 
he  does  not  turn  his  back  on  Christ.  These  very  diffi- 
culties only  deepen  his  interest  in  the  ^Messiah,  prompt 
him,  as  he  cannot  go  himself,  to  send  an  embassy  mak- 
ing further  inquiry,  and  asking  of  him  the  solution  of 
his  trouble !  The  very  nature  of  the  question  shows 
that  he  believes  in  Jesus,  believes  him  to  be  the  teacher 
of  divine  truth,  from  whom  he  begs  the  settlement  of 
doubts.  Paradoxical  as  it  may  appear  the  mission  w^hich 
exhibits  his  want  of  faith  brings  out  strikingly  the 
strength  and  tenacity  of  the  Baptist's  faith.  He  virt- 
ually says,  I'm  losing  my  faith,  and,  in  the  same  breath. 
Behold  my  faith.  It  will  not,  it  cannot  let  go  of  Thee. 
Only  speak  the  word  and  my  soul  has  peace.  Jesus' 
own  declaration  will  suffice.  Art  thou  He,  or  look  we 
for  another? 

He  did  not  send  in  vain ;  no  one  ever  made  a  fruit- 
less application.  No  fear  or  doubt  or  sorrow  carried 
to  Jesus  will  fail  of  relief. 

In  that  same  hour,  says  Luke,  He  cured  many  of 
their  infirmities  and  plagues,  and  of  evil  spirits ;  and 


58  THE   HIGHER   ROCK. 

unto  many  that  were  blind  He  gave  light.  And  then, 
fully  sympathizing  with  the  trial  of  His  faithful  servant, 
He  kindly  directs  go  and  show  John  again,  once  more, 
those  things  which  ye  do  hear  and  see.  They  could 
perhaps  not  at  once  gain  an  audience  with  Jesus.  They 
had  to  stand  off  behind  the  crowd,  where  they  might 
Jiear  from  others  as  well  as  see  for  themselves  what 
was  going  on.  They  would  hear  the  voice  of  gladness 
pouring  out  thanks  for  merciful  relief  and  giving  glory 
to  God  for  the  wonders  wrought.  They  might  hear 
also  blessed  sentences  of  the  Gospel  falling  from  the 
lips  of  Jesus  himself.  They  would  hear  the  multitude 
testifying  to  the  resurrection  of  some  that  were  dead, 
and  with  their  own  eyes  they  saw  blind  ones  receiving 
their  sight,  the  cripple  leaping  on  sound  limbs,  the  leper 
cleansed,  and  the  deaf  opening  their  ears  at  the  voice 
of  Jesus. 

Thus  they  could  return  armed  not  with  the  testi- 
mony of  their  senses  regarding  the  miracles  of  Christ, 
but  with  Christ's  ozvn  charge  to  give  this  as  His  answer 
to  John.     The  answer  had  a  yet  wider  scope.     This 
very  message,   while   it   clearly   expressed   what   these 
messengers  saw  and  heard,  is  at  the  same  time  the  very 
language  of  the  Scriptures,  and  therefore  a  reminder 
to  the  doubting  Baptist  that  the  solution  for  his  diffi- 
culty was  found  in  the  prophecies.    How  readest  thou  ? 
How  couldst  thou  stumble  at  My  course  if  thou  hadst 
faithfully  pondered  the  prophet  who  in  speaking  of 
My  reign  says :   The  eyes  of  the  blind  shall  be  opened 
and  the  ears  of  the  deaf  shall  be  unstopped ;  then  shall 


THE    THIRD    SUNDAY    IN    ADVENT.  59 

the  lame  man  leap  as  an  hare,  and  the  tong-ue  of  the 
dumb  shall  sing?     Is.  xxxv.  5,  6. 

And  finally  He  encourages  his  faith  to  firmness 
and  fortitude.  All  things  are  not  g'oing  as  you  had 
expected — as  you  wish  them  to  go.  J\Iy  reign  is  unrav- 
elling very  slowly ;  the  wheels  of  the  chariot  are  tarry- 
ing; the  kingdom  is  not  being  restored  at  this  time.  It 
may  be  a  far-off  event ;  blest  are  those  whose  faith 
keeps  them  standing  and  watching  and  waiting.  The 
day  of  the  Lord  is  a  thousand  years.  Blessed  is  he 
whosoever  shall  not  be  offended  in  Me. 

The  Kingdom  of  God  cometh  not  with  observation. 
My  reign  is  to  be  in  individual  hearts,  to  be  established 
within  men.  The  advent  power  of  glory  is  yet  to  come. 
Divide  your  question,  cut  it  in  two.  /  am  He  that  zi'as 
to  come.  Search  the  Scriptures  and  you'll  find  My 
lineaments  unmistakable.  Prophecy  and  fulfilment  unite 
in  Me.  And  you  look  for  another.  Certainly  another 
coming  is  in  store,  the  counterpart  of  the  first.  The 
Lord  Jesus  shall  be  revealed  from  heaven  with  His 
mighty  angels  in  flaming  fire,  taking  vengeance  on  them 
that  know  not  God  and  that  obey  not  the  Gospel.  He 
is  at  once  the  Lord  zi'hich  is,  zvhich  was,  and  which  is 
to  come. 

And  what  is  this  to  us?  How  easily  we  can  put 
ourselves  in  the  Baptist's  place,  and  out  of  the  dun- 
geon of  our  doubts  exclaim:  Art  thou  He,  et  seq.f 
Christianity  has  been  on  earth  for  nearly  2000  years. 
Its  founder  died  for  the  sins  of  the  world,  and  is  pos- 
sessed of  all  power  in  heaven  and  upon  earth — and 


6o  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

yet  66  per  cent,  of  the  total  population  is  heathen 
to-day,  without  God  and  without  hope.  "Art  thou  He 
that  comethf"  And  then  consider  what  has  transpired 
upon  the  planet  since  He  set  up  His  kingdom. 

The  fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  sinking  under  its 
own  corruption  and  the  waves  of  barbarism !  The 
religion  of  the  false  prophet,  spreading  over  the  fairest 
Christian  provinces  of  Asia,  Africa  and  Europe  and 
stifling  and  paralyzing  the  Church  for  more  than  looo 
years ! 

The  monstrous  imposture  of  the  papacy  placing  its 
iron  heel  upon  the  body  of  Christ,  and  forging  chains 
upon  the  hands  and  the  feet  of  God's  children !  The 
Reign  of  Terror,  the  awful  catastrophe  of  revolution  in 
France,  under  the  spirit  of  Atheism,  and  the  deluge  of 
blood  which  under  Napoleon  swept  over  a  continent — 
and  all  this  while  Jesus  was  holding  the  sceptre !  "Art 
thou  He  that  should  come?"  Sad  and  staggering  is 
the  spectacle,  and  he  who  reads  history  superficially 
and  riotlessly  may  easily  lose  his  faith  in  Christian- 
ity. Yet  he  who  studies  history  will  find  that  down 
these  centuries  a  stream  of  life  has  been  pouring 
through  the  nations,  purifying,  healing,  renewing  and 
gladdening  the  race,  a  stream  ever  widening  in  its 
channel,  ever  increasing  in  its  volume,  so  that  while 
human  wickedness  and  error  continue  to  spread  deso- 
lation and  woe,  the  Gospel  has  turned  the  wilderness 
into  spiritual  gardens,  and  made  the  desert  to  rejoice 
and  blossom  as  the  rose.  It  has  freed  the  captive,  it 
has  rescued  the  oppressed,  it  has  comforted  the 
mourner,  it  has  bound  up  the  broken-hearted,  it  has 


THE   THIRD    SUNDAY    IN    ADVENT.  6 1 

purified  the  home,  it  has  spread  a  multitude  of  bless- 
ings in  its  pathway. 

And  with  all  this,  whatever  has  opposed  the  prog- 
ress of  Christianity  or  stifled  its  beneficent  influence 
was,  we  find,  clearly  foretold  by  the  author  of  the 
Christianit}-,  and  by  His  apostles,  who  first  preached  it 
to  the  world.  The  wheat  and  the  tares  are  to  grow 
together.  They  are  grozcitig  together.  Think  of  the 
frightful  atrocities  in  South  Africa!  Think  of  the 
unspeakable  horrors  witnessed  in  China !  Think  of  the 
responsibility  of  so-called  Christian  nations  for  these 
monstrous  crimes !  Think  of  Christian  Europe  main- 
taining armies  which  aggregate  10,000,000,  and  grind- 
ing the  people  by  intolerable  burdens  to  build  and  main- 
tain ships  of  war !  Think  of  the  colossal  tide  of  sensu- 
ality, vice  and  crime  sweeping  over  our  land !  And 
listen  to  the  cries  that  come  from  the  habitations  of 
cruelty,  suffering  and  woe !  Stanley  had  hardly  com- 
pleted his  volume  on  Darkest  Africa,  when  it  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  volume  on  Darkest  London,  depicting  con- 
ditions more  revolting  than  those  of  the  black  continent, 
and  if  an  author  should  dare  to  exhibit  to  public  view 
Darkest  New  York,  what  a  ghastly  spectacle  it  would 
be.  Think  of  the  indescribable  havoc  in  society  made 
by  the  liquor  traffic!  Take  in,  if  you  can,  the  awful 
significance  of  a  single  issue  of  the  daily  press,  or,  for 
a  specimen  of  the  filth  in  which  the  world  wallows, 
examine  the  contents  of  a  Sunday  sheet,  and  with  tri- 
umphant iniquity  grinning  at  you,  with  truth  forever 
on  the  scaffold  and  wrong  forever  on  the  throne,  the 
anguish  of  your  soul  must   force   from  you  the  cry : 


62  THE   HIGHER   ROCK. 

Art  thou  He  that  should  come,  or  look  we  for  another  ? 
Yet  over  all  this  moral  darkness  there  streams  from 
the  cross  the  light  of  the  world,  chasing-  before  it  the 
poisonous  mists  and  miasms  which  nourish  and  pro- 
mote human  depravity,  and  he  must  be  blind  indeed 
who  does  not  note  the  advance  of  moral  development, 
the  growth  of  righteousness  and  charity,  the  progress 
of  religious  thought  and  power  among  men.  While  the 
world  itself  may  be  growing  no  better,  men  and  women 
in  it  certainly  are,  and  the  vital  interest  in  religion  and 
righteousness  was  never  so  profound  and  so  marked 
as  it  is  to-day.  Christian  charity  was  never  so  active^ 
never  so  comprehensive  and  so  pure-minded.  Never 
before  was  so  much  done  for  the  removal  of  poverty^ 
for  the  relief  of  suffering,  for  the  care  of  the  friendless, 
for  the  strengthening  of  the  weak,  for  the  education 
of  the  ignorant.  Never  was  there  a  more  earnest  pur- 
pose to  right  the  wrongs  of  the  injured;  never  was  the 
bar  of  public  opinion  so  merciless  to  private  or  to  public 
immorality. 

And  if  notwithstanding  there  is  still  many  a  stum- 
bling block  for  our  unsteady  feet,  turn  to  the  good 
book  and  you  will  be  amazed  at  its  faithful  forecast 
of  the  conflict  the  Gospel  encounters  in  its  march.  And 
with  the  sure  promise  of  another  coming  of  our  Lord 
in  power  and  glory,  it  becomes  us  to  judge  nothing 
before  the  time,  until  the  Lord's  coming,  who  both  will 
bring  to  light  the  hidden  things  of  darkness,  and  will 
make  manifest  the  counsels  of  the  hearts. 

Christ  is  the  one  that  should  come,  and  yet  we 
look  for  another.     And  let  this  assure  and  comfort 


THE  THIRD  SUNDAY  IN  ADVENT.       63 

every  tried  and  tempted  believer.  What  weakness, 
sinfulness,  prejudice,  uncharitableness ;  what  pride, 
ambition,  selfishness,  what  passion  yet  remains  in  each 
one  of  us!  Who  does  not  at  times  cry  out:  Art  thou 
He  that  should  come?  And  yet  all  is  not  vile.  You 
have  better  impulses,  loftier  aspirations,  a  kinder  dispo- 
sition, more  self-control,  a  tenderer  conscience,  and  a 
more  spiritual  mind.  You  are  making-  a  good  fight, 
and  He  who  has  begun  a  good  w'ork  in  }"ou  will  cer- 
tainly finish  it  unto  the  day  of  Jesus  Christ. 

The  Scriptures  show  abundantly  that  it  is  by 
great  tribulation  that  we  enter  the  kingdom,  that  sanc- 
tification  is  a  process  long  and  slow,  that  it  is  by 
ceaseless  watching  and  praying  and  self-denial  that  the 
new-  life  is  maintained. 

Blessed  is  he  who  does  not  stagger  at  the  slow 
unfolding  of  the  kingdom  within  him  or  in  the  world. 
Blessed  is  he  who  so  far  from  despairing  over  perplex- 
ing conditions,  turns  only  the  more  to  Jesus  himself, 
and  in  childlike  docility  cast  every  problem  and  every 
mystery  at  his  feet,  confident  that  He  who  has  come  is 
the  very  one  that  cometh  again,  that  the  very  thing 
which  perplex  and  try  His  people  now  are  but  the  sig- 
nals of  another  coming,  the  port  signals  of  another 
advent,  not  in  weakness  but  in  power  and  great  glory. 
Not  in  some  future  w^orld  alone  'twill  be, 

Not  in   some  future  world  alone  'twill  be, 

Beyond  the  grave,  beyond  the  bounds  of  time; 

But  on  the  earth  thy  glory  we  shall  see. 

And  share  thy  triumph,  peaceful,  pure,  sublime. 


III.     THE  MOTHER  OF  MY  LORD. 

Blessed  art  thou  among  women. — Luke  i.  42. 

The  poet  speaks  of  the  soul  of  good  in  things  evil. 
With  greater  propriety  may  we  speak  of  the  heart  of 
truth  in  forms  of  error.  The  most  flagrant  and  perni- 
cious error  is  often  but  a  false  garb  thrown  over  truth, 
an  exaggeration,  a  distortion  of  truth.  And  the  surest 
method  of  exposing  and  dislodging  false  doctrine  is  to 
uncover  the  true  doctrine  of  which  it  is  a  perversion, 
to  understand  the  truth  which  lies  at  its  root  and  to 
maintain  the  correct  principle  over  against  its  corrup- 
tion. 

The  exaltation  of  the  Virgin  Mary  above  all  of  her 
species  was  brought  about  naturally,  gradually,  with 
good  intent  and  with  a  measure  of  consistency,  in  the 
early  centuries  of  Christianity.  The  extraordinary 
glory  which  attached  to  her  as  the  mother  of  our  Lord, 
the  terms  of  Scripture  which  made  her  the  most  blessed 
among  women,  the  superlative  purity  of  her  heart  and 
life,  the  gentleness,  goodness,  the  grace  and  beautv 
incarnated  in  her  personality,  came  in  course  of  time 
to  make  her  an  object  of  devotion,  of  faith,  until  more 
worship  and  more  prayers  were  addressed  to  the  sin- 
born  human  mother  than  to  her  sinless  and  divine  Son. 

The  history  of  ancient  Christian  art  illustrates  the 
progress  made  in  the  homage  of  many.  At  first  the 
painter  portrays  simplv  the  noble  woman  full  of  grace ; 

(64) 


THE    MOTHER    OF    MV    I.ORD.  65 

gradually  he  represents  the  mother  and  the  babe ;  later 
appears  the  Son  on  a  throne  and  the  mother  crowned 
tho'  sitting  as  yet  below  Him  ;  still  later  the  crowned 
mother  is  shown  on  a  level  with  the  Son ;  the  next 
stage  exhibits  the  mother  on  a  throne  above  the  Son, 
and,  finally,  the  climax  is  reached.  The  eternal  Son 
in  wrath  is  about  to  destroy  the  earth,  when  the  virgin 
mother  interposes,  pleads  her  maternal  rights,  and 
saves  the  world  from  His  vengeance.  Thus  theology 
having  in  its  endeavor  to  secure  for  Christ  divine 
•majesty,  designated  her  as  the  Mother  of  God,  pro- 
ceeded by  a  false  development  to  ascribe  to  her  an 
immediate  share,  the  chief  share  in  the  work  of  re- 
demption, until  she  became  the  object  of  a  scandalous 
and  blasphemous  idolatry.  Her  worship  came  in  time 
to  overshadow  the  worship  of  her  Son ;  she  was  en- 
throned as  the  Queen  of  Heayen,  adored  as  the  hearer 
of  prayer,  virtually  invested  with  supreme  power  in 
heaven  and  on  earth. 

From  all  this  paganising  of  the  Gospel,  Protestant- 
ism recoils  with  horror,  but  such  is  naturally  the 
force  of  the  rebound  that  we  strike  another  extreme, 
and  withhold  the  meed  of  our  reverence  from  her  who 
according  to  the  Scriptures  is  to  be  called  blessed  by 
all  nations.  As  if  ^lary  were  responsible  for  these 
abominable  idolatries,  we  seem  to  cherish  harsh  preju- 
dice against  her,  to  disparage  her  character,  to  over- 
look her  resplendent  office,  and  disdainfully  to  ignore 
what  she  was  to  God  and  what  she  was  for  us.  Some 
people  have  well-nigh  a  feeling  of  aversion  to  the 
name :  some  would  be  ashamed  ^o  betray  any  special 

5 


66  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

reverence  for  the  mother  of  their  Lord.  They  would 
degrade  rather  than  exalt  her. 

Savs  Robertson :  "As  the  Romanist  represents  all 
connected  with  her  as  mysterious  and  immaculate,  so 
is  the  Protestant  disposed  to  vulgarize  her  to  the  level 
of  the  commonest  humanity  and  exaggerated  into  re- 
bukes the  reverent  expressions  to  her  in  which  Jesus 
asserted  His  divine  independence." 

Between  these  two  extremes  is  doubtless  found  the 
golden  truth,  and  to  the  ascertainment  and  unfolding 
of  this  let  us  here  give  our  attention. 

In  certain  aspects  the  Mother  of  our  Lord  holds 
undoubtedly  towards  her  species :  i.  A  position  of  supe- 
riority. In  other  aspects  she  holds  undoubtedly :  2.  A 
position  of  equality, 

"Hail  thou  that  art   highly   favored, 
The  Lord   is  with  thee; 
Blessed  art  thou  among  women!" 

Such  was  the  salutation  of  the  Angel  to  Mary,  and 
surely  never  before  nor  ever  since  was  a  mortal  thus 
addressed,  altho'  angelical  salutations  came  to  Abra- 
ham, to  Daniel,  to  Elizabeth,  and  to  Zacharias.  This 
language  of  Holy  Scripture,  we  doubt  not,  finds  its 
proper  interpretation  in  the  ascription  to  Mary  of  dig- 
nity and  honor  such  as  no  other  mortal  has  ever  borne, 
such  as  none  will  ever  bear  again.  She  has  a  claim 
to  the  title :  most  Blessed.  In  what  this  exaltation 
consisted  we  may  in  a  measure  comprehend. 

I.  When  the  hour  had  come  for  the  execution  of 
God's  eternal  counsel  of  grace,  when  the  stupendous 
mvsterv  of  the   incarnation   was  to  be  enacted,   when 


THE    MOTHER    OF    MY    LORD.  67 

a  work  greater  than  that  of  building  and  ruHng  worlds 
was  to  be  brought  to  pass,  the  Virgin  Mary  was  the 
elect  instrument  for  its  accomplishment.  It  may  be 
assumed  that  this  chosen  vessel  corresponded  in  a 
measure  with  the  office  she  was  to  fill ;  while,  on  the 
one  hand,  her  renown  and  distinction  are  justly  asso- 
ciated with  the  glory  of  her  mission,  she  must,  on  the 
other  hand,  have  possessed  personal  elements  of  fitness 
for  this  transcendent  office.  With  the  dignity  of  her 
mission  must  be  counseled  the  highest  personal  attri- 
butes. It  verily  looks  as  if  the  honor  with  which  she 
was  invested  was  held  back,  reserved  for  her,  for  one 
whose  purity  and  piety,  whose  thoughtful,  meditative, 
prayerful  and  believing  soul  qualified  her  beyond  all 
others  for  the  holiest  and  most  mysterious  union  with 
God.  Finding  so  fit  an  instrument,  God  Himself 
showed  extraordinary  regard  for  His  lowly  hand- 
maiden. He  vouchsafed  an  incomparable  distinction 
to  the  Virgin.  He  made  her  the  brightest  star  in  the 
firmament.  Of  a  truth  could  she  sing  as  no  other : 
"He  that  is  mighty  has  done  to  me  great  things."  In 
the  superhuman  work  of  redemption  God  drew  her 
body,  mind,  and  spirit  into  fellowship  with  Himself, 
overshadowed,  took  possession  of  her  in  such  a  way 
that  she  brought  forth  a  child,  and  this  child  of  hers 
was  at  the  same  time  the  Son  of  the  Highest,  meekly 
submitting  herself  to  the  divine  will.  The  Holy  Ghost, 
the  life-giving  creative  power  of  God,  came  upon  her 
and  with  a  view  to  creating  a  new  humanity  the  divine 
presence  and  power  created  in  her  womb  a  new  man, 
the  Second  Adam,  the  infant  God.     In  her  heaven  and 


68  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

earth  were  united  as  nowhere  else,  the  divine  and  the 
human  met  as  they  have  met  but  once.  A  pure  maiden 
was  espoused  unto  God,  in  the  holiest  mystery  of  the 
incarnation.  She  was  selected  by  divine  love  and  di- 
vine wisdom  for  a  distinction  that  has  fallen  to  no 
other.  She  was  raised  to  a  pinnacle  in  which  she  has 
no  fear,  no  rival.  Within  and  through  the  blessed  vir- 
gin God  assumed  human  nature.  Therefore,  also, 
that  holy  thing  which  was  born  of  her  was  "called  the 
Son  of  God." 

Surely  in  this  mysterious,  unfathomable,  inefifable 
union  with  God  Mary  was  highly  favored,  attained 
the  highest  eminence  that  can  be  reached  on  earth,  and 
was  the  chosen  of  God  to  bring  into  the  world  the 
Savior  promised  long. 

And  this  unique  service  to  which  she  was  chosen 
presents  another  aspect  in  which  Mary  has  a  glory 
above  all  other  mortals. 

2.  She  gave  birth  to  the  Savior  of  mankind.  From 
her  is  the  seed  of  the  woman  which  shall  crush  the 
serpent's  head.  Prophecy  foretold,  a  virgin  shall  con- 
ceive and  bring  forth  a  son.  When  the  fullness  of 
time  was  come  God  sent  forth  His  Son,  made  of  a 
woman.  To  her  the  human  race  is  indebted  for  its 
Redeemer  in  as  real  a  sense  as  this  nation  is  indebted 
to  Mary  Washington  for  the  father  of  his  country.  He 
is  part  of  herself.  All  that  is  human  in  our  Lord  was 
derived  from  her  substance,  created  from  her  nature. 
In  her  flesh,  through  her  flesh,  of  her  flesh,  God  sent 
His  only  begotten  into  the  world  to  save  sinners.  She 
was  His  mother  not  in  appearance  or  by  semblance,  but 


THE   MOTHER   OF    MY    LORD.  69 

she  was  to  Him  in  absolute  reality  all  that  a  mother 
can  be  to  her  offspring.  Her  blood  flowed  in  His 
veins,  her  life  nourished  His  life,  with  absolute  truth 
as  well  as  infinite  tenderness,  the  divine  Son  could  say 
to  her,  "My  Mother.'' 

"When  Thou  tookest  upon  Thee  to  deliver  man : 
Thou  didst  humble  Thyself  to  be  born  of  a  \'irgin." 

That  Alary  was  the  subject  through  which  this 
humbling  of  the  Son  of  God  took  place  entitles  her 
to  a  singular  distinction,  and  we  say  it  reverently,  we 
cannot  doubt  that  our  Lord  Himself  in  His  human 
make-up  owed  an  inestimable  debt  to  the  elect  mother 
through  whom  was  mediated  His  incarnate  existence 
and  from  whom  He  received  all  that  is  embraced  in  a 
mother's  love.  As  His  eyes  first  opened  upon  her  dear 
face,  so  was  their  dying  gaze  fixed  on  her,  while  His 
blood  was  flowing  for  the  world.  Surely  Mary  is 
most  blessed,  because  blessed  is  the  first  of  her  womb. 

In  the  supreme  hour  for  which  the  centuries  had 
been  waiting,  in  the  focal  point  of  the  w-orld's  history, 
this  virgin  was  chosen  of  God  to  act  the  mother's 
part,  to  fill  the  mother's  ofiice  for  a  divine  Redeemer. 

He  was  born  underneath  her  heart.  He  was  fed 
from  her  life.  He  was  folded  in  her  arms.  He  was 
kissed  by  her  lips,  He  was  lulled  to  sleep  by  her  voice. 
He  was  bathed  by  her  hands.  He  was  dandled  on  her 
knees.  He  lisped  His  prayers  at  her  feet,  He  was  nur- 
tured and  shielded  by  her,  moulded  and  guided 
throughout  childhood  and  youth,  and  not  till  He  had 
lived  in  her  presence  and  basked  in  her  motional  coun- 
tenance for  thirty  years  did   He   feel  qualified  to  go 


70  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

forth  and  enter  upon  the  supreme  task  for  which  He 
had  come  into  the  world. 

Aye,  there  is  a  most  precious  as  well  as  a  most  pro- 
found meaning  in  the  truth  that  our  Lord  was  Mary's 
Son,  that  He  was  true  man  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary, 
as  He  was  true  God,  begotten  of  the  divine  Spirit. 
When  it  is  remembered  what  she  was  to  her  Son  and 
what  in  Him  she  contributed  to  humanity,  surely  she 
can  be  awarded  a  meed  of  glory  whose  splendor  dims 
every  other  earthly  halo. 

From  still  another  point  of  view  Mary  is  invested 
with  a  peculiar  glory.     She  was  exalted  by  God  to  be — 

3.  The  ideal  and  type  of  Christian  motherhood. 
The  Roman  and  Greek  Churches  have  emphasized  the 
virginity  of  Mary.  To  magnify  this  they  have  invented 
the  theory  of  her  perpetual  virginity.  And  the  great 
system  of  monasticism,  as  well  as  the  monstrous  wrong 
of  a  celibate  priesthood,  seeks  support  from  the  virgin- 
ity of  Mary.  But  her  motherhood  is  made  far  more 
conspicuous  in  the  Scriptures  than  her  virginity.  Three 
times  Mary  is  spoken  of  in  the  New  Testament  as  a 
virgin,  twenty-six  times  as  a  mother — a  fact  which 
points  its  own  moral.  That  which  transfigures  Mary 
and  entitles  her  to  a  blessed  and  resplendent  distinction 
among  all  nations  is  the  glory  of  motherhood. 

It  is  not  for  us  to  say  whether  redemption  was 
possible  through  any  other  expedient  than  that  of  the 
Savior  being  born  of  a  woman.  It  is  certainly  con- 
ceivable that  the  incarnation  might  have  been  effected 
by  creative  fiat.  The  second  Adam,  like  the  first, 
might  have  appeared   upon  earth  by   direct   creation, 


THE    MOTHER    OF    MY    LORD.  7I 

without  the  intervention  of  a  second  cause,  but  intinite 
wisdom  ordained  that  the  incarnation  should  at  the 
same  time  servo  the  purpose  of  exalting  and  glorify- 
ing motherhood.  The  word  was  made  flesh  through 
a  mother.  The  Christ  entered  substantially  our 
humanity  by  becoming  the  seed  of  the  woman.  The 
mother  act,  the  mother  ministry,  shed  lustre  on  Mary, 
a  truth  caught  by  the  painters  whose  Madonnas  are 
never  without,  always  with,  the  Child. 

She  who  shines  brightest  and  highest  in  the  splen- 
did galaxy  of  woman,  achieved  her  distinction  not  by 
a  vow  of  perpetual  virginity,  not  by  declining  the 
sacred  office  of  parentage,  not  by  denying  her  sex  nor 
by  exchanging  it  for  man's  sphere  and  aspiring  to 
man's  glory.  Not  by  being  false  to  her  nature,  but 
by  being  true  to  it ;  not  by  tearing  away  from  her 
sphere,  but  by  gratefully,  contentedly  accepting  her 
God-given  office ;  not  by  subverting  the  divine  order 
of  society,  but  by  illustrating  and  magnifying  it  in 
bringing  forth  the  Holy  Child  Jesus,  has  Mary  become 
the  most  highly  favored  among  women.  Her  glory 
was  attained  through  her  being  herself — a  lesson  for 
her  sex — never  more  needed  than  to-day.  There  is 
a  glory  of  manhood  and  there  is  a  glory  of  woman- 
hood. One  sex  differs  from  the  other  sex  in  glory. 
The  glory  of  each  is  of  a  different  order,  not  only  of 
a  different  degree.  The  glory  of  man  is  strength, 
courage,  justice,  sternness.  The  glory  of  woman  is 
meekness,  gentleness,  purity  and  love,  sympathy,  long 
suffering;  and  it  requires  no  extraordinary  insight  to 
see  which  outshines  the  other,  that  which  is  womanly, 


72  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

or  that  which  is  manly,  the  feminine  graces,  the  mas- 
culine virtues,  the  ministrations  of  Clara  Barton  or 
the  work  of  a  military  conqueror,  the  love  which  by 
self-denial  and  sacrifice  heals  and  saves,  or  the  strength 
w^hich  wounds  and  slaughters.  It  is  because  Mary 
magnified  the  glory  of  what  is  womanly,  it  is  because 
she  wears  the  crown  of  motherhood,  that  she  has  a 
claim  on  the  reverent  contemplation  of  Christendom. 
She  is  to  be  venerated  above  others  not  as  the  Queen 
of  Heaven,  but  as  the  Queen  of  home,  not  because  she 
became  deified,  but  because  she  was  so  perfectly 
humanized ;  not  because  of  her  own  immaculate  birth, 
but  because  she  gave  birth  to  Him  who  redeemed  the 
world. 

It  is  said  to  have  been  the  ardent  aspiration  of 
every  Jewish  bride  that  she  might  bear  the  Messiah. 
While  thus  aspiring  to  the  glory  of  the  Messianic 
maternity  these  pious  women  testified  to  the  glory  of 
motherhood  in  general,  for  childlessness  was  abhorred 
by  every  Israelite  wife  as  a  peculiar  calamity  and 
disgrace. 

Here,  then,  we  have  undoubtedly  an  expression 
of  the  divine  will  and  order :  that  woman's  highest 
glory  is  motherhood,  that  nothing  raises  her  so  near 
to  the  divine  as  to  be  a  parent,  to  bring  into  existence 
and  nurture  immortals. 

The  humblest  mother  of  a  poor  family,  who, 
while  cumbered  with  much  serving,  piously  contem- 
plates her  offspring  and  tenderly,  patiently,  ministers 
not  only  food  and  material  comfort,  but  instructs  them 
and  inspires  in  them  hope  and  joy,  transfiguring  com- 


THE    MOTHER    OF    MV    LORD.  73 

mon  things  by  self-forg"ettin,2,-  love,  what  is  lower  and 
homely,  bv  the  spirit  with  wliich  she  attends  to  all. 
mav  experience  hardship,  servitude  and  sorrow,  but 
she  wields  a  dominion  and  she  shares  a  glory  and 
knows  a  joy  that  link  her  close  with  God.  He  that 
would  be  greatest  among  you  let  him  be  as  one  that 
serveth,  and  no  other  service,  or  ministry,  reaches 
the  height  of  maternal  ministration,  in  the  holding 
and  moulding,  guarding  and  guiding  infant  life. 
Woman  must  love,  her  God-given  nature  impels  her 
to  it,  and  what  so  fit  an  object  of  her  sympathetic  ten- 
derness and  self-sacrificing  devotion  as  her  own  child ! 

Surely  Christ's  first  public  appearance,  his  con- 
secration of  marriage,  his  fixing  the  stamp  of  divine 
approval  on  this  fundamental  institution,  must  never 
be  forgotten.  Nothing  is  nearer  heaven,  nothing  more 
pleasing  to  God,  than  this  natural  sphere  of  woman. 
Voluntary  virginity  is  not  to  be  condemned ;  it  is 
nowhere  condemned  by  the  Scriptures ;  but  mother- 
hood is  the  supreme  destiny  of  womanhood  ;  it  is  the 
graduation  of  virginity.  And  Mary  is  greeted  from 
heaven  and  honored  in  the  creed  not  because  she 
remained  a  virgin,  but  because  she  brought  forth  a 
Son.  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  conceived  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  was  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary. 

A  most  momentous  truth  shines  out  from  these 
considerations,  namely  that  the  motherhood  of  Mary 
is  typical  of  the  place,  the  office,  which  woman  bears 
in  the  salvation  of  the  world.  Motherhood  is  funda- 
mental in  human  salvation.  Mothers  render  the  first 
and  most  effective  and  most  abiding  spiritual  service. 


74  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

Without  mothers  our  preaching  is  vain.  The  work  of 
the  Gospel  stops  where  woman  decHnes  her  pecuHar 
office. 

Recognizing  the  uncommon  glory  with  which 
Mary  is  invested,  admitting  even,  as  we  do,  that  in  her 
maternal  office  she  was  a  connecting  link  between 
earth  and  heaven,  yet  we  are  constrained  also  to  view 
her 

II.    ON    A   LEVEL   WITH   THE   REST  OF   MANKIND. 

Neither  the  President  of  the  United  States  nor 
the  King  of  Great  Britain,  lofty  as  is  their  position 
and  great  as  is  their  power,  are  exempt  from  the  com- 
mon conditions,  infirmities  and  needs  of  mankind.  An 
elevation  and  purity  of  personal  character  ought  to 
correspond  with  the  height  of  official  station,  but  in 
a  fallen  world,  all  flesh  is  heir  to  certain  ills,  and 
whatever  honor  and  rank,  whatever  exalted  office  or 
service  may  have  come  to  Mary,  we  have  no  warrant 
in  Scriptures  or  in  reason  for  making  her  an  excep- 
tion. If  such  were  the  case  it  could  not  have  escaped 
the  sacred  writers.  If  Mary  had  been  conceived  and 
born  immaculate  how  could  the  Apostles  have  failed 
to  note  a  truth  so  remarkable?  How  could  her  own 
Son,  the  Light  of  the  World,  have  maintained  silence 
on  a  matter  which  casts  superhuman  glory  on  His 
mother  ?  His  own  distinction  from  sinners.  His  exemp- 
tion from  every  taint  of  depravity,  is  repeatedly  noted 
by  Himself  and  by  His  Apostles.  He  challenged  His 
enemies  to  convict  Him  of  sin,  and  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews  declares  Him  "holy,  harmless  and  separate 


THE    MOTHER   OF    MY    LORD.  75 

from  sinners."  But  such  testimony  concerning  His 
mother  can  neither  be  developed  nor  forced  from  the 
New  Testament.  It  certainly  never  occurred  to  the 
first  worshippers  of  her  Son — the  Magi — to  divide 
His  worship  with  her.  The  universal  depravity  of 
mankind  is  most  attested  by  revelation.  What  is  born 
of  the  tlesh  is  flesh.  We  are  all  by  nature  the  children 
of  wrath.  There  is  none  that  doeth  good,  no,  not  one. 
Mary  must  have  been,  therefore,  born  in  sin.  The 
dogma  of  Roman  Catholicism,  which  holds  to  her 
immaculate  conception,  is  derived  not  from  revela- 
tion, nor  from  history  nor  from  tradition,  but  from 
Pope  Pius  IX.  It  is  a  bold  assertion  of  the  Roman 
claim  to  decree  doctrine  independently  of  Scripture, 
of  the  principle  that  the  Church  is  a  source  of  doc- 
trine. To  overthrow  this  heresy  we  need  no  stronger 
weapons  than  were  forged  by  Church  Fathers  whom 
Rome  herself  is  wont  to  honor. 

Several  historic  incidents  reveal  infirmities  which 
would  certainly  not  be  expected  in  one  untainted  by 
original  sin.  When  she  lost  her  divine  boy  in  the  pro- 
cession returning  from  Jerusalem,  and  when  on  find- 
ing Him  she  addressed  Him  with  what  sounds  like  a 
mild  reproach,  we  can  hardly  associate  such  practical 
mistakes — whether  of  thoughtlessness  or  of  anxiety— 
with  absolute  sinlessness.  At  Cana  her  conduct  betrays 
perhaps  maternal  pride  over  the  proposed  exhibition 
of  supernatural  power,  perhaps  anxiety  over  material 
things  and  earthly  comforts,  and  some  detect  "a  tinge 
of  impatience  and  a  tone  of  rebuke  in  Jesus'  reply." 
Again,  when  His  brethren  took  alarm  at  the  excitement 


76  THE   HIGHER   ROCK. 

caused  by  the  crowds  surging  around  Him  and  went 
to  draw  Him  into  retirement,  she  may  or  she  may  not 
have  shared  their  unkind  suspicions.  These  three 
instances  combine  to  show  that  she  certainly  had 
neither  the  faith  nor  the  enhghtenment  required  to 
com.prehend  Him.  Evidently  her  own  soul  needed 
the  washing  which  comes  through  the  blood  of  her 
Son,  and  she  obtained  the  white  robe  of  the  saints 
only  by  that  efficacious  medium.  All  were  concluded 
under  sin  that  the  promise  by  faith  of  Jesus  Christ 
might  be  given  to  them  that  believe.  Christ  is  for  her 
as  for  others,  the  door  to  glory — the  only  name  given 
under  heaven  among  men  whereby  they  must  be  saved. 

Already  at  Cana  her  Son  signified  to  her  that  the 
filial  relation  was  virtually  dissolved,  that  no  claim, 
no  wish,  no  prayer  of  hers  could  be  based  upon  her 
maternal  status.  And  that  He,  after  all,  answered  her 
request  means  necessarily  no  more  than  that  He 
answers  also  our  intercessions  for  one  another.  And 
Christ  avails  Himself  very  notably  of  another  opportu- 
nity to  declare  once  for  all  that  in  the  realm  of  grace 
she  was  to  Him  no  more  than  any  other  mortal  who 
does  the  will  of  His  Father.  "Blessed  is  the  womb 
that  bore  thee  and  the  paps  which  thou  hast  sucked," 
shouted  an  enthusiastic  woman.  "But,"'  was  the  reply, 
"Yea,  rather  blessed  are  they  that  hear  the  word  of 
God  and  keep  it."  Do  we  not  in  the  Magnificat  hear 
her  spirit  rejoicing  in  God  her  "Savior?" 

She  had  grace  no  doubt  above  all  otliers,  but  it 
was  not  inherent,  but  the  grace  which  reflected  from 


THE    MOTHER   OF    MY    LORD.  77 

the  glory  of  her  Son.     A  diadem  may  have  encircled 
her  brow,  but  she  has  cast  it  at  the  feet  of  her  Son. 

She  stands  on  high  not  with  God.  but  with  the 
ransomed ;  not  with  the  never-sinning,  but  with  those 
who  have  washed  their  robes ;  not  with  the  worshipped, 
but  with  the  worshippers,  nearest  the  throne,  it  may  be, 
yet  lowliest  in  her  posture.     The  poet  makes  her  sing 

"Albeit  in  my  flesh  God  sent  His  Son, 
Albeit  over  Him  my  head  is  bowed 
As  others  bow  before  Him,  still  my  heart 
Bows  lower  than  their  knees." 

Her  glory  in  heaven  is  that  of  the  redeemed  sin- 
ner, not  the  mediator  or  intercessor ;  she  swells,  not 
divides,  the  song  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb.  She  shines 
among  the  sanctified  not  in  the  glory  which  accrues 
to  her  from  the  unique  honor  she  received  from  the 
Father,  not  because  she  brought  forth  the  incarnate 
Son,  not  because  she  was  the  ideal  mother,  but  because 
she  was  saved  through  grace.  She  believed  on  Him 
who  loved  and  died  for  us  all. 


IV.    THE  NEW  COVENANT. 

For  finding  fault  with  them,  etc. — Heb.  viii.  8-11. 

A  covenant-keeping  God  is  the  splendid  title  with 
which  God  was  honored  by  His  ancient  people.  "He 
is  God,  the  faithful  God,  which  keepeth  covenant  and 
mercy  with  them  that  love  Him  and  keep  His  com- 
mandments, to  a  thousand  generations."  He  origi- 
nates His  covenants ;  of  His  own  will  He  engages  to 
bestow  blessings ;  from  pure  love  He  contracts 
gracious  relations  with  sinful  men  and  binds  Himself 
to  confer  on  them  extraordinary  favors.  And  the  word 
of  God  cannot  be  broken. 

The  first  covenant  we  read  of  is  that  with  Noah 
concerning  the  flood :  "And  thou  shalt  come  into 
the  ark;  thou  and  thy  sons,  and  thy  wife,  and  thy 
sons'  wives,  with  thee."    God  kept  His  covenant. 

Then  follows  the  world  covenant,  in  which  after 
the  flood  God  gave  to  creation  a  pledge  of  its  preser- 
vation, covenanting  with  Noah  and  with  his  seed  and 
with  every  living  creature ;  in  fact  with  the  whole 
order  of  nature :  "While  the  earth  remaineth,  seed- 
time and  Harvest,  and  cold  and  heat,  and  summer  and 
winter,  day  and  night  shall  not  cease."  And  this 
covenant  He  is  keeping. 

Soon  thereafter  the  covenant  of  promise  is  estab- 
lished with  Abraham,  a  covenant  including  the  gift 
of  a  country,  an  innumerable  posterity,  and  the  divine 

(78) 


THE    NEW   COVENANT.  79 

blessing  to  issue  from  that  posterity  to  all  races  and 
all  nations  of  the  earth.  And  the  course  of  history 
from  that  hour  marks  the  fulfillment  of  this  covenant. 

Then,  four  hundred  and  thirty  }ears  after,  came 
the  great  Sinaitic  covenant,  a  system  of  ordinances, 
rites  and  precepts,  the  dispensation  of  the  law,  which 
had  the  two-fold  purpose  of  giving  efificacy  to  the  patri- 
archial  covenant  of  promise,  and  of  typifying,  fore- 
shadowing and  leading  up  to  the  inheritance  of  the 
new  covenant,  which  is  really  the  everlasting  covenant, 
to  which  all  others  are  subordinate  and  tributary,  re- 
newals, types  and  pledges  of  the  fulfillment  of  the 
promises  it  contains.  In  the  Mosaic  covenant  God 
made  Israel  His  chosen  and  peculiar  people ;  not  indeed 
restricting  to  them  His  purposes  of  grace,  but  taking 
them  into  special  relations  that  He  might  transmit 
through  them  His  salvation  to  the  world.  In  contrast 
with  the  heathen  they  were  the  covenant  nation,  they 
were   a   chosen   generation. 

They  held  this  in  course  of  time  to  be  a  fixed  ex- 
clusive relation.  The  Mosaic  covenant  must  be  exter- 
nally and  universally  binding,  and  while  receiving  the 
new  dispensation,  which  by  fulfilling  its  figures  and 
types  terminated  the  functions  of  the  old,  they  were 
so  infatuated  with  its  ordinances  and  with  their  fav- 
ored position  under  them,  that  they  failed  rightly  to 
appreciate  the  gospel.  Even  after  having  tasted  the 
heavenly  gift,  they  continued  under  the  spell  of  the 
ancient  rites,  and  clove  to  the  whole  round  of  carnal 
ordinances  which  had  been  imposed  for  temporary  and 
disciplinary  purposes. 


8o  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

It  was  to  break  this  spell  that  the  Apostle  wrote 
several  of  his  epistles,  showing  that  the  new  covenant 
was  the  preordained  result  of  the  old,  prefigured  and 
predicted  by  it,  and  that  having  served  its  purp  se, 
having  reached  its  goal  in  Jesus  Christ,  the  old  was 
destined  to  pass  away. 

The  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  by  which  on 
the  day  of  Pentecost  the  new  covenant  was  inaugu- 
rated, was  but  a  fulfillment  of  the  promises  under  the 
old  covenant.  This,  says  Peter,  is  that  which  was  spoken 
by  the  prophet  Joel :  "And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in 
the  last  days,  saith  God,  I  will  pour  out  my  Spirit 
upon  all  flesh."  And  so  in  our  text,  to  show  the 
spiritual  character  of  Messiah's  kingdom,  the  Apostle 
cites  the  prediction  of  Jeremiah,  "Behold  the  days 
come,  saith  the  Lord,  when  I  will  make  a  new  cove- 
nant," etc.  The  old  covenant  by  its  very  arrangements 
confessed  its  inferior  and  faulty  character,  while  its 
silent  types  as  well  as  the  lips  of  its  teachers  proclaimed 
a  better  covenant,  a  new  and  living  way  to  God. 
Moses  was  the  schoolmaster  to  Christ.  His  covenant 
was  the  husk  holding  the  kernel,  from  which  germ 
was  developed  salvation  in  Christ.  The  new  covenant 
is  in  every  way  the  legitimate  successor  of  the  old, 
its  outcome,  its  fulfillment,  its  end,  its  crown. 

The  gospel  in  distinction  from  the  old  covenant 
has  three  characteristic  features. 

I.       IT   IS   NtW. 
It  is  not  the  old  covenant  modified,  repaired,  en- 
larged.    It  is  a  false  view  of  Christianitv  to  make  it 


THE    NEW   COVENANT.  8 1 

an  improved  Judaism.  The  new  covenant  is  m  t  the 
same  as  the  old.  In  contrast  with  that  it  is  like  a 
new  garment,  a  new  house,  a  new  ship,  a  new  insti- 
tution, a  new  era.  It  is  a  new  dispensation,  specificall\- 
different  in  character  and  content  from  the  old.  The 
imdoubted  word  of  God  declares  that  this  covenant 
is  "not  according  to  the  covenant  that  I  made  with 
their  fathers."  Christians  are  not  Jews.  Christ  is  not 
another  Moses.  His  Church  is  a  New  Testament 
Church.  xA.fter  faith  has  come  we  are  no  longer  under 
a  schoolmaster.  Having  the  antitype  we  drop  the  type, 
just  as  men  put  out  the  candle  after  the  sin  rises. 

The  old  was  a  system  of  restraint,  of  legal  iirposi- 
tions  and  prohibitions,  of  outward  barriers  and  l.onds, 
of  servile  fear  and  physical  force — a  yoke  of  bondage 
dooming  the  soul  to  an  endless,  hopele-s  struggle  be- 
tween the  law  in  the  members  and  the  law  written 
on  tables  of  stone.  The  new  coveiiant  brings  glad 
tidings,  reveals  divine  love,  fulfills  ancient  promises, 
offers  forgiveness,  creates  a  new  heart,  awakens  the 
spirit  of  childhood,  begets  moral  strength,  makes  man 
free,  and  fills  him  with  joy  and  peace. 

In  the  nature  of  things  the  new  covenant  takes  the 
place  of  the  old.  The  free  act  of  God,  pron using 
through  Jeremiah  a  new  covenant,  stamped  the  old  as 
antiquated,  as  about  to  terminate. 

We  cannot  emphasize  this  truth  too  much.  The 
Church  has  suffered  greatly  from  attempts  to  perpetu- 
ate a  dispensation  that  has  passed  away,  although  some 
carried  their  opposition  to  the  Old  Testament  too  far. 
It  must  be  admitted  that  it  contained  the  germ  of 
6 


82  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

Christianity ;  but  we  are  no  longer  concerned  with 
the  germ  since  we  have  the  fruit.  The  gospel  unfolds, 
embodies  and  conveys  the  great  truths  and  blessings 
which  the  Mosaic  covenant  typically  represented.  Its 
love  had,  indeed,  a  place  in  the  old,  and  the  law  of 
the  old  has  some  place  in  the  gospel ;  but  this  does 
not  change  the  fact  that  the  new  is  throughout  origi- 
nal, distinct,  unique,  further  removed  from  the  old 
than  the  east  is  from  the  west. 

Of  not  many  things  can  it  be  said  that  they  are 
new.  There  is  very  little  originality.  We  borrow  from 
Shakespeare,  and  Shakespeare  owed  a  large  debt  to  the 
past.  There  is  no  new  thing  under  the  sun,  some  one 
hath  said.  Ideas,  institutions,  inventions,  bearing  the 
stamp  of  novelty,  are  but  the  resurrections  of  what 
had  long  been  buried ;  or  they  have  been  slowly  evolved 
through  successive  forms  and  stages,  making  it  diffi- 
cult for  one  to  tell  what  was  the  original  form  or 
stage. 

But  Christianity  is  original ;  it  is  a  new  thing  on 
the  earth.  It  establishes  itself  everywhere  in  the  face  of 
the  sacred  customs  and  opinions  and  maxims  of  an- 
tiquity. Jesus  Christ,  by  His  teachings  and  His  life, 
gave  a  shock  to  saint  and  sage.  He  was  a  revolution. 
He  was  so  far  out  of  touch  with  the  ideas  of  His 
time,  so  far  in  advance  of  His  age  and  of  all  ages, 
that  the  wisest  were  incapable  of  comprehending  Him, 
and  He  was  supposed  to  be  either  demented  or  pos- 
sessed. His  conceptions  of  God  and  of  man,  of  truth 
and  of  duty,  of  law  and  of  liberty,  of  labor  and  of 
worship,  of  earth  and  of  heaven,  confounded  the  wis- 


THE    NEW    COVENANT.  83 

dom  of  Oriental  and  Greek  philosophy,  and  were  con- 
demned as  superlatively  absurd.  It  was  a  new  philos- 
ophy, a  new  relig'ion,  a  new  covenant. 

Who  had  ever  taught  disinterested  love,  the  self- 
expiation  of  deity  for  human  sin,  redemption  by  sub- 
stitution, salvation  as  a  free  gift,  with  works  as  the 
result  and  not  the  condition,  the  Fatherhood  of  God 
and  the  brotherhood  of  all  men.  the  transformation  of 
human  nature,  the  forgiveness  of  injury,  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  body,  and,  most  surprising  of  all,  the  con- 
quest of  the  world  by  the  cross,  the  sign  of  helplessness 
and  ignominy? 

By  the  reflex  light  of  the  gospel  we  may,  indeed, 
find  here  and  there  traces,  anticipations,  or  even  proph- 
ecies of  such  things  in  the  Old  Testament,  but  they 
are  dim  and  indistinct,  and  belong  obviously  to  those 
things  which  the  prophets  vainly  sought  to  understand. 
It  is  possible  to  find  hints  and  presentiments  of  them 
even  among  lofty  heathen  minds,  but  their  expression 
of  such  ideas  is  no  proof  of  a  consciousness  of  their 
import. 

Christianity  is  something  new,  a  leaven  dropped 
into  human  thought,  a  column  of  light  falling  from 
another  world,  a  remedial  economy  transcending  the 
highest  reaches  of  human  thought  and  aspiration.  It 
is  not  according  to  the  covenant  made  Avith  their 
fathers.  It  is  something  new,  a  force  so  original,  so 
powerful,  that  it  proposes  in  due  time  to  make  all 
things  new :  to  produce  not  only  a  new  spirit,  a  new 
life,  a  new  man  and  a  new  song,  but  even  a  new  heaven 
and  a  new  earth. 


84  THE   HIGHER   ROCK. 

II.       IT    IS    INTERNAL    AND    SPIRITUAL. 

'*I  will  put  My  laws  into  their  mind  and  write 
them  in  their  hearts."  Nothing  of  this  kind  appears 
in  the  old  economy.  The  law  was  written  on  tables 
of  stone.  Every  command,  every  impulse,  came  from 
without,  and  consisted  in  some  outward  arrangement 
or  practice. 

Nothing  shows  so  well  the  contrast  between  the 
two  covenants  as  their  externality  and  internality, 
respectively. 

In  the  one  case  an  outward  law.  a  material  sanc- 
tuary, an  endless  routine  of  observances,  the  burning 
of  incense,  the  slaughter  of  victims,  the  manipulation 
of  blood,  the  consumption  of  sacrifices,  "meats  and 
drinks  and  divers  washings  and  carnal  ordinances." 
a  system  of  rules,  a  wearisome  round  of  regulation? 
and  mechanical  performances,  a  yoke  of  legalism, 
which  neither  the  fathers  nor  the  children  were  able 
to  bear.  No  one  could  approach  God  save  through 
the  service  of  a  priest.  No  one  could  be  a  priest  unless 
he  had  a  particular  lineage.  No  sacrifice  could  be 
offered  except  at  the  one  local  altar,  and  none  could 
be  accepted  unless  it  was  physically  perfect. 

In  the  other,  no  locality  is  prescribed,  no  routine 
observance,  no  regulations  or  precepts  imposed  from 
without.  Everything  centres  in  the  heart.  Every 
good  is  conditioned  by  the  mind.  Every  interest  is 
dominated  by  ethical  considerations.  An  invisible 
throne  of  grace  is  accessible  to  all ;  an  unseen  High 
Priest  stands  at  God's  right  hand ;  the  sacrifices  re- 
quired are  spiritual,  and  they  may  be  laid  on  the  altar 


THE    NEW   COVENANT.  85 

anywhere,    for    faith    consecrates    every    place    into    a 
sanctuary. 

Christ  enters  the  spiritual  domain  of  man.  He 
touches  the  heart  by  grace  and  truth.  He  introduces 
at  the  centre  of  our  being  a  new  life-force,  which  acts 
upon  the  conscience,  the  emotions  and  the  will.  He 
creates  a  new  life  at  the  springs  of  action.  He 
assures  the  sinner  of  forgiveness,  and  brings  him  into 
a  life  communion  with  God,  exercised  in  a  spiritual 
worship  and  evidenced  in  an  ethical  transformation. 
He  deals  not  so  nuich  with  outward  conduct  as  with 
the  inner  mind  from  which  it  proceeds.  He  aims  at 
the  things  which  are  unseen,  while  Moses  dealt  with 
the  things   which  are  seen. 

The  external  and  the  visible  still  have  their  use. 
As  long  as  man  consists  of  soul  and  body  mysteriously 
united,  and  our  life  is  largely  conditioned  by  the  exter- 
nal world,  the  outward  element  remains  an  indispensa- 
ble medium  for  the  inward.  The  mystic  Quaker  advo- 
cates, indeed,  a  purely  spiritual  worship,  going  the 
length  of  omitting  the  sacraments  and  depreciating 
the  written  word,  but  the  carrying  out  of  his  principles 
has  demonstrated  them  to  be  quite  too  ethereal  for 
our  present  composite  existence. 

But,  while  the  spiritual  requires  as  yet  an  outward 
embodiment,  the  new  covenant  is  not  content  with  the 
visible  form.  It  holds  on  to  the  letter,  for  the  spirit 
requires  it  as  its  vehicle  and  expression,  but  it  lays 
the  stress  upon  the  spirit.  It  desires  truth  in  the 
inward  parts,  which  it  is  the  office  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
to    employ    for   our   sanctification.      It   lays    down    no 


86  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

rules  and  legalistic  bonds  which  only  provoke  resist- 
ance, but  aims  for  the  inner  life,  the  thoughts,  the 
affections,  the  aspirations  and  the  activities  of  our 
spiritual  nature.  Giving  its  attention  primarily  to 
these,  and  converting  the  body  into  the  temple  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit  will  most  certainly 
appear,  to  wit,  love,  joy,  peace,  long-suffering,  gentle- 
ness, goodnes;.  meekness,  temperance,  faith.  And  they 
will  appear  lut  as  the  result  of  mechanical  effort,  not 
from  outward  constraint,  "not  for  the  sake  of  winning 
heaven  or  of  escaping  hell,"  but  from  a  vital  force  hid- 
den within,  from  the  impulse  and  constraint  of  love 
as  the  ruling  principle.  They  are  the  spontaneous 
outflow  of  the  heart,  the  product  of  the  soul's  free 
activity  under  grace.  Truly,  this  is  a  better  covenant. 
The  thunders  of  Sinai  cause  men  to  fear  and  quake, 
but  the  spectacle  of  Calvary  moves  them  to  swift  and 
loving  obedience.  It  transfers  the  law  to  the  tables 
of  the  heart,  and  there  it  enforces  itself. 

III.     IT  IS  e;fficacious. 

It  accomplishes  what  the  law  of  Moses  could  not 
do  in  that  it  was  weak.  The  old  covenant  was  a  fail- 
ure. The  very  promise  of  another  stamped  it  abortive. 
If  that  first  one  had  been  faultless,  if  it  had  effected 
salvation,  there  would  have  been  no  occasion  for  a  sec- 
ond one.  It  was  the  capital  defect  which  made  another 
desirable  and  necessary. 

"They  continued  not  in  My  covenant,"  is  the  sad 
lament  of  Jehovah  over  its  miscarriage ;  and  "I  also," 
He  adds,  "was  not  concerned  for  them."    Scarcely  had 


THE    NEW    COVENANT.  8/ 

it  been  promulgated  when  it  was  ruthlessly  broken, 
and  its  subsequent  history  records  only  disobedience, 
provocation  and  revolt. 

The  confession  of  the  inadequacy  of  the  covenant 
runs  throughout  this  epistle,  serving  as  an  argument 
to  wean  the  Christian  Jews  from  their  infatuated 
adherence  to  a  worn-out,  antiquated,  impotent  system. 
"There  is  a  disannulling  of  the  commandment  going 
before,  for  the  weakness  and  unprofitableness  thereof," 
vii.  i8.  It  was  only  a  shadow  of  good  things  to  come, 
an  unsubstantial,  shadowy  outline,  devoid  of  power  and 
life,  only  "a  figure  for  the  time  present."  It  could 
"never  with  those  sacrifies  which  they  ofifered  year  by 
year  continually  make  the  comers  thereunto  perfect," 
X.  I.  "It  could  not  make  him  that  did  the  service  per- 
fect as  pertaining  to  the  conscience,"  ix.  9.  Hence 
the  endless  repetition,  "every  priest  standing  daily  min- 
istering, and  offering  oftentimes  the  same  sacrifices, 
which  can  never  take  away  sins."  x.  11;  "for  where 
remission  of  sins  is,  there  is  no  more  offering  for  sin." 
As  long  as  the  offerings  for  sin  are  continued,  it  is 
self-evident  that  no  remission  has  taken  place.  The 
conscience  is  not  relieved.  In  those  self-same  sacri- 
fices there  is  "a  remembrance  again  made  of  sins  every 
year,"  the  terrible,  ineffaceable  record  is  called  up 
afresh.  "For  it  is  not  possible  that  the  blood  of  bulls 
and  of  goats  should  take  away  sins,"  x.  4.  And  yet 
the  removal  of  sin  is  the  first  requisite  in  the  soul's 
redemption,  for  only  the  forgiven  soul  springs  into 
newness  of  life. 

The  new  covenant  guarantees  its  efficacy  by  mak- 


88  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

ing  forgiveness  the  first  and  underlying  basis  of  the 
whole  economy:  "For  I  will  be  merciful  to  their  un- 
righteousness, and  their  sins  and  their  iniquities  will 
I  remember  no  more."  Thus  what  the  old  covenant 
with  all  its  rites  and  its  shedding  of  blood  struggled 
to  obtain,  is  realized  under  the  new  covenant.  What 
the  ordinances  of  the  old  covenant  represented,  the 
sacraments  of  the  new  convey.  The  shadow  turns  to 
substance,  the  blood  of  dumb  animals  is  replaced  by 
richer  blood  than  theirs.  "Christ  having  come  a  high 
priest  of  good  things  to  come  by  a  greater  and  more 
perfect  tabernacle,  neither  by  the  blood  of  goats  and 
calves  but  by  His  own  blood.  He  entered  in  once  into 
the  holy  place,  having  obtained  eternal  redemption  for 
us."  ix.  II,  12.  Oiicc  He  entered— a  second  offering 
would  have  been  superfluous. 

His  sacrifice  was  efficient,  for  it  was  a  spiritual, 
voluntary,  moral  act,  not  merely  the  ceremonial  manip- 
ulation of  blood  drawn  from  slain  victims.  Of  His 
own  will,  and  from  a  deliberate  self-sacrificing  pur- 
pose, for  the  glory  of  His  Father,  for  the  redemptiorr 
of  man,  He  offered  Himself,  through  His  eternal  spirit, 
unto  God — and  this  free  ethical  act  of  His  "purges, 
your  conscience  from  dead  works  to  serve  the  living 
God,"  ix.  14.  Spiritual  forces  are  mightier  than  mate- 
rial forces.  Christ's  supreme  surrender  to  the  will 
of  God,  in  our  behalf,  rent  the  vail  of  the  most  holy 
place.  It  opened  for  us  a  new  and  living  way  to  God. 
It  was  an  act  of  the  highest  love,  and  such  a  priestly 
act  is  efficacious  not  only  for  the  pardon  of  our  sins, 
but  for  genuine  communion  with  God  and  for  the  births 


THE    NEW    COVENANT.  89 

of  a  new  heart  of  trustin<^  obedience.  The  gospel  is 
the  power  of  God.  It  effects  in  the  world  what  no 
human  power,  no  combination  of  human  oowers,  can 
effect.  It  is  incomparably  the  mightiest  force  ever 
introduced  into  our  world,  and  its  results  are  the  lofti- 
est and  greatest  known  to  man. 

The  gospel  breaks  a  sinner's  heart,  it  gives  balm 
to  a  sinner's  conscience,  it  changes  a  siimer's  nature, 
it  purifies  a  sinner's  life,  it  makes  the  drunkard  sober, 
the  dissolute  chaste,  the  miser  generous,  the  surly 
sweet,  the  rude  soul  refined.  It  changes  malice  into 
charity,  pride  into  humility,  envy  into  brotherly 
kindness.  It  turns  sorrow  into  joy,  and  makes  the 
desert  bloom  as  the  rose.  Its  march  through  the  world 
is  a  pathway  of  light,  and  its  transformation  of  society 
reveals  a  leavening  power  to  which  nothing  short  of 
omnipotence  would  be  equal. 

Thus  the  new  covenant  is  life  and  power,  for  it 
is  spiritual.  It  rests  on  spiritual  conditions,  an  offer- 
ing of  the  ^lediator's  own  blood  freely  shed  by  His 
eternal  will.  And  so  it  enters  man's  spiritual  domain. 
It  starts  the  vital  energies  within.  It  enspheres  "'truth" 
and  love. 

A  few  practical  lessons : 

We  are  not  under  Moses  but  under  Chris*,  not 
under  the  law-  but  under  grace.  Let  us  not  imperil  the 
sweet  W'ine  of  the  gospel  by  putting  it  into  old  bo'. ties 
Let  us  hold  fast  the  spiritual  and  internal  character  of 
the  covenant  we  are  under.  Let  us  seek  holiness  not 
by  rules,  bonds  and  commands,  which  sustain  to  us 
onlv  an  outward  contact,  whereas  we  need  ever  to  be 


90  THE   HIGHER    ROCK. 

quickened  and  nourished  and  fired  at  the  heart,  and 
if  we  open  our  souls  to  the  Lord  and  Giver  of  life,  we 
shall  know  what  fullness  there  is  of  saving  power. 

Then,  too,  shall  we  see  that  grace  is  mightier  than 
law,  that  its  incitements  infinitely  transcend  the  con- 
straints and  the  restraints  of  an  outward  authority. 
None  live  so  correctly  as  those  who  follow  virtue  from 
the  love  of  it,  none  are  so  strictly  righteous  as  those 
whose  righteousness  springs  from  the  love  of  it,  none 
give  so  largely  as  those  who  are  moved  to  give  by  the 
spontaneous  action  of  love,  and  only  tl;ose  :^erve  God 
truly  who  love  and  trust  Him  with  all  their  heart. 


V.  THE  PRESERVATION  OF  THE  JEWS 
AN  ILLUSTRATION  OF  THE  DIVINE 
GOVERNMENT. 

[From   Pulpit   Treasury.] 

For  if  thou  altogether  holdest  thy  peace  at  this  time,  then  shall 
there  enlargement  and  deliverance  arise  to  the  Jews  from  another  place; 
.  .  .  and  who  knoweth  whether  thou  art  come  to  the  kingdom  for 
such  a  time  as  this?  Then  Esther  bade  them  return  Mordecai  this 
answer:  Go,  gather  together  all  the  Jews  that  are  present  in  Shushan, 
and  fast  ye  for  me,  and  neither  eat  nor  drink  three  days,  night  or  day;  I 
also  and  my  maidens  will  fast  likewise,  and  so  will  I  go  in  unto  the  king, 
which  is  not  according  to  the  law;  and  if  I  perish.  I  perish. — Esther 
iv.   14-16. 

The  condition  of  the  captive  Jews  under  the  Per- 
sian monarchs  was  by  no  means  opp:essive.  A  strong 
sympathy  obtained  in  fact  between  the  two  religions, 
since  Magism,  Hke  Judaism,  was  violently  set  against 
all  forms  of  idolatry.  Repeated  instances  are  given 
of  special  reverence  for  the  God  of  Israel  by  the  Per- 
sians, and  an  edict  from  the  throne  immediately  upon 
the  conquest  of  Babylon,  gave  liberty  for  the  captives 
to  return,  authorized  the  rebuilding  of  the  Holy  Citv 
and  made  appropriations  from  the  royal  exchequer 
for  the  building  of  another  temple. 

So  favorable  was  the  lot  of  the  exiles  and  so  con- 
tented with  their  condition  were  most  of  them  that 
but  a  small  proportion  of  pious  patriots — only  some 
50,000 — embraced  the  privilege  of  returning  to  their 
sacred  fatherland  extended  by  Cyrus,  the  Persian  king. 
Those  who  preferred  to  continue  their  residence  in  the 

(91) 


92  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

far  East  appear  to  have  enjoyed  considerable  prosper- 
ity, and  some  of  them,  after  the  fashion  of  this  people 
in  their  successive  misfortunes,  rose  even  to  high  dis- 
tinction and  power.  Daniel,  who  had  enjoyed  exalted 
rank  among  the  Babylonians,  reached  under  the  Per- 
sians the  very  first  position  of  a  subject,  being  pre- 
ferred above  all  the  presidents  and  princes.  Others 
like  Mordecai  attained  prominence  at  court,  basking 
in  royal  favor  and  rendering  important  services  to  the 
government,  while  one  of  the  women,  having  by  her 
beauty  captivated  the  great  king,  came  to  share  the 
royal  diadem,  and  the  devotion  of  Queen  Esther  has 
secured  for  her  the  foremost  place  among  the  illus- 
trious women  of  the  world. 

But  while  his  race  was  held  in  considerable  esti- 
mation and  enjoyed  a  fair  degree  of  worldly  prosperity, 
one  of  the  Jews,  who  evidently  filled  a  post  of  honor, 
gave  mortal  offense  to  his  superior  who  had  just  been 
promoted  to  a  seat  above  all  the  princes,  and  by  this 
wanton  insult  precipitated  the  whole  nation  to  the  verge 
of  extermination.  Haman,  like  Mordecai,  was  a  for- 
eigner, an  Amalekite,  a  nation  which  of  all  others  the 
Jews  had  abhorred  from  the  time  of  their  wanderings 
in  the  desert.  And  with  heroic  scorn  Mordecai  de- 
clined to  render  to  this  high  representative  of  the 
crown  the  customary  and  extravagant  honors 
demanded  both  by  his  dignity  and  by  a  special  execu- 
tive mandate.  Stung  to  the  quick  by  his  daily  expe- 
rience of  personal  contempt,  and  writhing  all  the  more 
because  it  proceeded  from  a  Jew,  Haman  resolved 
upon   a  terrible   revenge.     His  own  people  had   ages 


THE    PRESERVATION    OF   THE   JEWS.  93 

ago  been  extirpated  by  the  sword  of  the  Jews,  and 
now  personal  resentment  unites  with  the  spirit  of 
national  hate  in  planning  a  frightful  retribution.  The 
extermination  of  his  ancestry  must  be  avenged  by  the 
utter  extermination  of  the  detested  race  through  whom 
that  had  been  effected.  With  one  blow  he  Avill  close 
forever  the  chapter  of  Israel's  history !  In  an  abso- 
lute despotism  and  with  no  one  between  him  and  the 
throne  nothing  stood  in  the  way  of  his  diabolical  pur- 
pose. The  king  believes  his  lying  accusation  against 
the  lo\alty  of  this  nation  whose  "laws  are  diverse  from 
all  people.''  and.  persuaded  of  the  danger  of  having 
such  an  element  scattered  over  the  provinces,  gives 
plenipotentiary  authority  to  his  minister  to  carry  out 
his  awful  deed  of  blood.  '"And  there  was  written 
according  to  all  that  Haman  had  commanded,  unto  the 
king's  lieutenants,  and  to  the  governors  that  were  over 
every  province,  and  to  the  rulers  of  every  people  of 
every  province,  according  to  the  writing  thereof,  and 
to  every  people  after  their  language ;  in  the  name  of 
King  Ahasuerus  was  it  written,  and  sealed  with  the 
king's  ring."  At  the  hand  of  couriers — and  here  is 
the  first  record  of  the  postal  service,  an  institution 
which  civilization  owes  to  Persia — the  horrible  decree 
was  swiftly  promulgated  through  all  the  king's  prov- 
inces "to  destrov,  to  kill  and  to  cause  to  perish, 
ALL  Jews,  both  voung  and  old,  little  children  and 
WOMEN,  IX  ONE  DAV.  and  to  take  the  spoil  of  them  for 
a  prey.'" 

What  a  terrible  fate  overhangs  this  devoted  peo- 
ple !     And    there    appears    to    be    no    alternative.     No 


94  THE   HIGHER    ROCK. 

appeal,  no  refuge,  no  escape  seems  possible.  The 
good  offices  of  the  queen  might  perchance  intervene 
in  behalf  of  her  kindred.  But  was  not  she  herself  one 
of  the  doomed?  And  even  apart  from  this,  could  she 
be  expected  to  attempt  interposition  when  instant  death 
would  in  all  probability  be  the  penalty  for  such  a  ven- 
ture? Or  should  she  even  be  inspired  with  a  courage 
to  defy  death,  could  any  success  be  hoped  for  from  an 
efifort  by  one  who  was  included  in  the  impending  mas- 
sacre, and  whose  very  opposition  to  the  fatal  decree 
would  bear  the  impress  of  treason  in  a  government 
whose  laws  were  never  changed  or  revoked?  This, 
then,  was  the  only  visible  possibility  of  securing  deliv- 
erance, the  last  earthly  resource,  the  frailest  shadow 
of  a  hope,  and  to  put  any  reliance  upon  this  desperate 
venture  must  have  seemed  the  madness  of  despair. 
And  yet,  though  this  forlorn  hope  should  fail  them, 
though  the  queen,  quailing  before  the  ordeal,  should 
prove  deaf  to  the  piercing  cry  of  her  kindred,  though 
nothing  apparently  remains  for  them  but  to  await  the 
tragic  doom  which  was  rapidly  approaching,  an  indom- 
itable faith  sustains  their  leader.  Deliverance  must 
come  from  some  quarter,  is  the  sublime  assurance  of 
Mordecai.  "For  if  thou  altogether  boldest  thy  peace 
at  this  time,"  is  his  message  to  the  queen,  "then  shall 
there  enlargement  and  deliverance  arise  to  the  Jews 
from  another  place." 

The  text  presents  for  our  consideration, 

I.      A  FIRM  CONVICTION  IN  AN  OVERRULING  PROVIDENCE). 

The  last  visible  hope  of  escape  would  in  all  prob- 


THE    PRESERVATION    OF   THE   JEWS.  95 

ability  vanish.  There  was  no  reasonable  groniul  to 
expect  any  relief  throngh  the  services  of  the  qneen. 
The  unappalled  confidence  of  Mordecai,  to  whom 
Esther  stood  endeared  like  his  own  daughter,  it  is  evi- 
dent, did  not  rest  upon  her  possible  interposition.  She 
might  hold  her  peace  altogether.  And  yet  the  Jews 
will  not  be  destroyed.  Deliverance  for  them  shall 
arise  from  another  place.  The  great  king  has  indeed 
issued  the  bloody  decree,  and  under  the  principle  of 
the  Medo-Persian  laws  there  can  be  no  recall.  And 
the  fiend  whose  infernal  hate  had  devised  this  plot  will 
see  to  its  execution.  And  if  executed — it  must  wnpe 
the  Jews  out  of  existence.  There  was  probably  not 
a  Hebrew  on  earth  outside  the  limits  of  the  vast  Per- 
sian dominions.  And  the  decree  for  their  destruction 
had  been  promulgated  in  every  language  of  the  one 
hundred  and  twenty-seven  provinces,  so  that  the  mas- 
sacre would  be  coextensive  wath  the  frontiers  of  the 
empire,  and  not  a  soul  would  be  left  to  tell  the  tale  of 
horror !  But  deliverance  will  come.  Relief  will  arise 
at  the  extreme  moment.     Faith  is  imperturable. 

But  whence  can  it  possibly  come  ?  From  Babylon  ? 
It  has  never  recovered  its  independence  since  the  night 
of  Belshazzar's  feast.  From  Nineveh  ?  The  proud 
capital  of  the  Assyrian  had  fallen  before  the  united 
assaults  of  the  Medes  and  Babylonians  more  than  a 
century  before,  and  was  still  prostrate.  From  Eg>'pt? 
That  great  power  had  been  annihilated  by  the  Persian 
arms,  and  its  very  gods  hewn  to  pieces  by  the  sword 
of  Cambyses.  From  Greece?  Those  petty  republics 
had  not  yet  attained  sufficient  importance  to  tempt  the 


96  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

eye  of  Persian  conquest.  From  Rome?  Will  mighty 
Rome,  by  an  army  of  invasion,  avert  the  impending 
slaughter  of  the  Jews  ?  That  great  empire,  which 
subsequently  subdued  every  nation  but  the  Persians, 
had  as  yet  hardly  a  place  on  the  map  of  the  world. 
From  whence  then  does  this  man  expect  deliverance? 
Aye,  there  is  an  empire  of  yet  vaster  extent  than 
the  one  embraced  in  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven 
provinces.  There  is  a  Ruler  of  still  mightier  power 
than  the  great  king  who  now  held  universal  sway. 
There  are  laws  even  more  vmchangeable  and  inexora- 
ble than  the  laws  of  the  Medes  and  Persians.  An 
invisible  hand  wields  the  sceptre  of  the  world,  and  the 
march  of  events  is  held  under  absolute  control.  There 
is  one  who  is  supreme  over  all  potentates,  King  of 
kings  and  Lord  of  lords,  and  every  moment  on  the 
stage  of  history  must  bend  to  His  sovereign  will. 
Human  relief  may  fail  the  Jews.  To  all  appearances 
the  die  is  cast.  They  are  defenceless,  they  are  doomed. 
But  the  Jews  will  not  perish !  They  are  people  of 
Jehovah.  They  are  the  chosen  instruments  of  the 
world's  salvation.  They  are  the  depositories  of  great 
and  precious  promises  which  have  not  been  fulfilled. 
There  had  been  revealed  to  their  fathers  the  far-reach- 
ing purposes  of  God  concerning  Israel,  and  these  have 
not  yet  been  realized.  The  hopes  of  mankind  are 
bound  up  with  the  Jews.  And  while  they  may  be  des- 
tined to  endure  great  sufferings,  inhuman  and  atrocious 
oppressions,  it  was  as  certain  as  God's  throne  that  they 
could  not  be  destroyed.  Deliverance  will  come. 
Deliverance     did     come.     IMordecai's     undaunted 


THE    PRESERVATION   OF   THE   JEWS.  97 

and  inextinguishable  hope  was  not  the  chimera  of 
superstition,  not  the  wild  dream  of  a  deluded  and  dis- 
ordered brain.  The  issue  justified  his  perturbed  con- 
viction that  the  arm  of  Omnipotence  would  save  his 
people  from  destruction.  More  than  three  thousand 
years  of  Jewish  history  have  warranted  the  faith  that 
they  arc  under  the  protection  of  heaven.  Centurv  after 
century  has  witnessed  the  determination  of  kings  and 
nations  to  blot  out  the  hated  race  "whose  laws  are 
diverse  from  all  people,"  but  the  stars  in  their  courses 
have  fought  for  Israel,  and  the  waves  of  the  sea  have 
opened  a  path  for  their  rescue.  Even  at  that  day 
IMordecai  might  look  back  upon  a  never-to-be-forgot- 
ten deliverance  from  a  fate  as  imminent  as  the  present 
one.  Egypt,  at  the  summit  of  its  power,  had  put  forth 
its  bloody  hand  for  the  destruction  of  the  Hebrews, 
but  its  mighty  hosts  were  at  last  engulfed  in  the  sea, 
while  the  song  of  Israel's  triumph  arose  from  the  far- 
ther shore. 

So  at  a  later  day  the  conquering  Assyrian  had 
crushed  the  kingdom  of  the  Ten  Tribes  and  the  irre- 
sistible Babylonian  had  put  an  end  to  that  of  Judea. 
and  had  transported  beyond  the  desert  the  bone  and 
sinew  of  the  nation,  but  at  this  very  moment  the  walls 
of  Jerusalem  were  rising  from  their  ashes,  and  the 
temple  of  Jehovah  was  again  lifting  its  towers  over 
Mount  Moriah,  whereas  Nineveh  and  Babylon  were 
never  to  see  a  resurrection.  x\nd  from  that  day  till 
the  present  day  what  persistence  and  malignity  have 
characterized  the  jmrpose  of  every  great  power  in  its 
turn    to    extirpate    this    unique    nation.     The    Syrian 

7 


98  THE   HIGHER    ROCK. 

Antiochns,  in  the  second  century  before  Christ,  pkin- 
dered  the  city  and  sanctuary,  defiled  the  altar,  profaned 
the  temple,  committed  the  Scriptures  to  the  flames,  and 
by  every  imaginable  species  of  oppression  and  torture 
sought  to  put  an  end  to  their  nationality  and  religion. 

Rome,  with  its  colossal  dominion  and  its  valiant 
soldiery,  Rome,  that  could  conquer  and  conciliate  to 
its  rule  almost  every  other  people,  was  somehow  never 
able  to  absorb  or  to  assimilate  the  Jews,  and  failing  in 
every  efifort  to  make  of  them  loyal  subjects,  it  resorted 
to  almost  incredible  butcheries,  turned  Judea  into  a 
desert,  established  heathenism  in  Jerusalem,  and  pro- 
hibited the  entrance  of  a  Jew  into  the  sacred  city. 

Even  Mohammed,  so  closely  allied  to  them  by 
blood,  raved  against  them  with  implacable  hatred  to 
the  last  moment  of  his  life  and  dispossessed  them  of 
all  their  territory  in  Arabia.  And  as  we  come  to  the 
Middle  Ages,  with  all  their  barbarism  and  monstrous 
cruelties,  it  is  very  evident  that  their  savage  thirst  for 
blood  was  never  so  keen  and  so  insatiable  as  when 
whetted  by  the  remorseless  purpose  of  eradicating 
what  Constantine  called  "that  most  hateful  of  all  peo- 
ple." Frightful  persecutions  were  inflicted  upon  them 
by  the  Franks  and  Visigoths  in  the  sixth  and  seventh 
centuries.  During  the  ninth  century  the  kings  of 
France,  "bishops,  barons,  and  even  the  municipalities 
all  joined  in  a  carnival  of  persecution.  From  the 
eleventh  to  the  fourteenth  century  their  history  is  a 
succession  of  massacres."  Their  goods  were  seized, 
their  treasures  confiscated,  again  and  again  the  whole 


THE   PRESERVATION    OF   THE   JEWS.  99 

body  was  banished  from  the  kingdom  with  all  the 
accompaniments  of  horrible  cruelties,  and  sometimes 
I)/  zi'holc  provinces  every  Jexv  ivas  burned!  And  what 
occurred  in  France  was  repeated  in  almost  every  city 
and  principality  of  Germany.  Even  England,  so  fain 
to  boast  of  its  preservation  of  free  institutions  during 
that  period,  after  persecuting,  plundering,  and  by 
incredible  brutalities  maltreated  for  ages  the  detested 
people,  finally  under  Edward  I.  drove  them  in  a  body 
from  its  shores,  "pursued  by  the  execrations  of  the 
rabble,  and  leaving  in  the  hands  of  the  king  all  iheir 
property  and  treasure." 

And  Spain — it  makes  one's  blood  curdle  to  read 
of  the  inhuman  atrocities  endured  by  this  devoted  race 
at  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards.  The  culmination  of 
their  oppressions  and  robberies  and  nnirders  and  mas- 
sacres, and  of  the  fiendish  work  of  the  Inquisition,  was 
at  length  reached  in  the  horrible  fate  of  their  expul- 
sion from  the  country,  without  being  permitted  to  carry 
with  them  either  their  gold  or  their  silver.  About 
half  a  million  of  souls  were  thus  ruthlessly  driven  out, 
with  almost  every  land  under  heaven  shut  against  them, 
with  apparently  no  alternative  before  them  but  to 
plunge  into  the  sea  and  disappear  forever  from  history. 
Even  the  illumination  and  liberal  spirit  of  the  Reform- 
ation efifected  hardly  any  relaxation  of  the  singular 
and  universal  hostility  to  this  despised  yet  irrepressi- 
ble nation.  The  Jews  were  driven  from  Bavaria  in 
1553,  from  Protestant  Brandenburg  in  1573.  They 
were  outlaws  in  Ens^land  even  in  the  davs  of  the  Com- 


lOO  THE   HIGHER    ROCK. 

monwealth,  they  were  expelled  from  Russia  in  1743, 
and  were  prohibited  from  touching  the  soil  of  Lutheran 
Norway  until  the  year  of  grace  i860! 

And  to  this  very  day  the  spirit  of  murderous  hate 
against  them  is  so  rampant  in  many  parts  of  Europe 
that  neither  the  civilization  of  the  nineteenth  century 
nor  the  vigilance  of  its  most  efficient  police  is  able  to 
restrain  it.  Yet  the  Jews  have  not  been  destroyed. 
They  are  still  here,  everywhere,  the  most  homogeneous 
nationality,  the  most  vigorous  stock  of  the  species.  No 
weapon  forged  against  them  has  prevailed.  Mordecai 
was  not  a  fool.  His  prophecy  rested  on  enlightened 
conviction.  He  knew  who  was  the  God  of  Israel.  He 
knew  in  whom  he  believed.  He  knew  what  hands 
hold  the  balance  of  power. 

And  his  people,  it  ought  to  be  further  remarked, 
have  not  only  survived  all  the  bloody  crusades  and 
butcheries  which  infernal  hate  has  organized  against 
them,  but  even  in  their  dispersions  and  opp"essions, 
and  while  universally  detested,  they  have  asserted 
themselves,  and  have  risen,  like  Joseph,  and  Daniel, 
and  Mordecai  himself,  to  the  foremost  positions  of 
honor  and  influence  and  culture.  x\bundant  illustra- 
tions of  this  meet  us  at  the  present  day.  A  Rothschild 
awarded  a  seat  with  the  proudest  aristocracy  on  earth ! 
A  Disraeli,  born  a  Jew,  and  by  all  accounts  keeping 
to  his  ancestral  faith  in  the  dying  hour,  guiding  for 
years  the  most  colossal  empire  of  Christendom !  The 
bankers  of  Europe,  without  the  opening  of  whose 
vaults  no  great  power  can  decide  upon  a  war !  The 
trade  of  the  world  under  their  control !     The  press  of 


THE    PRESERVATION    OF   THE   JEWS.  lOI 

Germany  and  Austria  almost  exclusively  in  their 
hands!  The  judiciary  of  those  countries  largely  held 
by  Hebrew  jurists !  The  proportion  of  Jewish  students 
at  the  universities  far  exceeding  that  of  either  the 
Protestant  or  Catholic  populations,  while  many  of  the 
most  important  professional  chairs  are  occupied  by 
the  cultured  representatives  of  this  people.  What  a 
race !  From  Abraham  to  Jesus  the  Christ— from  Jesus 
to  Sir  Moses  Montefiore !  Four  thousand  years  have 
passed  since  their  ancestor  was  selected  as  the  founder 
of  a  nation  to  which  were  committed  the  oracles  of 
God,  and  from  whom  salvation  was  to  proceed  for 
mankind — and  though  every  powerful  nation  has  by 
turns  attempted  to  crush  them,  though  they  have  for 
long  ages  been  scattered  and  peeled,  and  trodden  down 
and  despised,  and  detested,  and  tortured,  and  mas- 
sacred, they  have  proven  the  one  indestructible  race 
of  the  human  family.  Deliverance  in  the  supreme 
moment  has  never  failed  to  come. 

"Show  me  a  miracle!"  said  a  scoffing  Prussian 
king  to  one  of  his  faithful  chaplains.  "Sire."  was  the 
response,  "will  your  majesty  have  the  grace  to  send 
for  your  principal  banker?" 

Notice  here  also, 

II.      THE   RECOGNITION   OF   HUMAN    INSTRUMENTALITIES 
IN    THE    DIVINE    GOVERNMENT. 

That  a  supreme,  all-wise  and  righteous  govern- 
ment determines  the  course  of  all  earthly  events  is  the 
epic  of  history.  That  human  destiny  is  fixed  by  an 
omnipotent   will   is  the   profoundest  conviction   of  the 


I02  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

best  minds  of  the  world,  fjiit  how  is  this  effected? 
It  may  not  be  for  us  to  know.  And  yet  if  the  Sov- 
ereign Disposer  of  all  things  employs  intermediate 
agencies  in  His  government,  it  becomes  our  duty  to 
recognize  and  contemplate  their  presence.  Some 
appear  to  deny  such  secondary  agencies.  God  governs 
by  fiat,  they  say.  He  speaks  and  it  is  done,  He  com- 
mands and  it  stands  fast.  But  the  more  we  study  the 
economy  of  Providence,  the  more  evident  it  becomes 
that  God  employs  means  to  work  out  His  sovereign 
will,  and  that  these  means  are  visible.  The  devout  eye 
can  recognize  them. 

The  great  forces  of  nature  undoubtedly  continue 
in  the  employ  of  their  Creator.  He  makes  winds  His 
angels  and  flames  of  fire  His  ministers  and  execu- 
tioners ; 

"Clouds  arise  and  tempests  blow 
By  order  from  His  throne." 

But  the  chosen  agent  of  God's  intervention  in  human 
affairs  is  man.  His  government  of  this  world  is  not 
only  of  man  and  for  man  but  emphatically  by  man. 
Whenever  His  interposition  in  a  momentous  crisis  has 
been  clearly  discernible,  the  instrumentality  of  man 
could  be  just  as  clearly  distinguished.  And  so  when 
Mordecai,  in  the  face  of  the  horrible  slaughter  which 
was  impending  over  his  captive  race,  is  perfectly  secure 
of  deliverance,  he  yet  makes  the  memorable  appeal  to 
the  queen :  "Who  knoweth  whether  thou  art  come  to 
the  kingdom  for  such  a  time  as  this?"  Who  knows 
but  that  you  are  the  chosen  instrumentality  of  our 
deliverance?   Is  not  vour  sacred  relation  to  the  throne. 


THE    PRESERVATION    OF   THH   JEWS.  103 

your  supreme  place  iu  tlie  heart  of  the  kinj^f,  itself  the 
stroke  of  Providence  by  which  the  threatened  destruc- 
tion of  your  kindred  is  to  be  averted  ? 

And  it  may  be  noted  in  passing  that  his  conviction 
of  certain  deliverance  did  not  make  IMordecai  person- 
ally indifferent  to  the  employment  of  means  to  bring 
it  about. 

It  is  by  man  that  God  executes  His  purposes  for 
man.  By  man  He  delivers  man.  Even  in  the  case 
of  our  eternal  redemption  it  behooved  the  Son  of  God 
to  become  a  man  in  all  things,  sin  excepted,  th:U  He 
might  accomplish  the  salvation  of  man. 

And  besides  cherishing  an  unalterable  conviction 
that  God  reigns,  it  becomes  a  devout  duty  and  an 
inspiring  study  to  recognize  the  chosen  instrumental- 
ities through  whom  He  reigns,  to  discern  in  the  great 
revolutions  of  history  the  notable  persons  whom  God 
signally  brought  to  the  kingdom  for  such  a  time — in 
each  momentous  epoch  always  the  very  man  required 
by  the  occasion,  the  only  one  properly  endowed  ar.d 
adequately  equipped  for  the  hour. 

Let  us  look  at  but  a  few  famous  examples.  Not 
going  back  to  men  into  whose  career  it  might  be 
charged  too  much  of  the  supernatural  element  entered 
to  serve  as  illustrations  of  the  general  government  of 
God.  such  as  Noah,  Moses,  David.  Elijah.  Paul,  we 
think  of  a  Charlemagne  coming  to  the  kingdom  just 
at  a  time  when  his  coming  was  indispensable.  When 
the  barbarian  hordes  had  overrun  Europe  and  like  a 
deluge  swept  away  the  very  foundations  of  its  ancient 
and  rotten  civilization,  when  the  demons  of  social  and 


I04  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

political  chaos  were  everywhere  holding  their  bloody 
sway,  there  arose  a  man  endowed  with  almost  super- 
human penetration,  foresight  and  executive  force,  who 
like  a  giant  established  civil  order,  founded  schools, 
erected  churches  and  organized  an  empire  which  res- 
cued Europe  from  Gothic  and  A^andal  barbarism  and 
became  the  bulwark  of  civilization  for  a  thousand 
years. 

Coming  down  seven  centuries  later  to  a  period 
when  the  old  systems  were  tottering,  when  a  corrupt 
hierarchy  had  brought  on  the  greatest  crisis  of  mod- 
ern history,  when  Europe  was  quivering  in  a  universal 
ferment  and  the  old  institutions  were  everywhere  pass- 
ing away  and  new  ones  waiting  to  be  created,  a  Luther 
was  at  hand  to  grasp  the  mighty  forces,  to  imperson- 
ate the  tremendous  revolution  and  to  control  the  intro- 
duction of  a  new  era. 

Coming  nearer  to  our  own  times,  when  on  the 
virgin  soil  of  this  continent  there  was  to  be  founded 
a  new  empire  embodying  the  wisest  principles  of  civil 
government  that  had  been  wrung  from  the  conflicts 
of  ages,  and  establishing  a  home  and  a  model  of  free- 
dom for  the  world,  a  Washington  stood  ready  to  lead 
an  army  and  a  nation  to  the  magnificent  achievement. 
Charlemagne,  Luther,  Washington.  Suppose  the  order 
of  their  appearance  had  been  reversed,  what  a  mess 
they  would  have  made !  Each  came  to  the  kingdom 
at  the  time  for  which  he  was  uniquely  fitted  and  qual- 
ified. And  so  it  has  been  with  thousands  on  a  less 
conspicuous  theatre.  Whenever  the  clock  has  struck, 
the  man  for  the  hour  has  appeared  upon  the  stage ! 


THE   PRESERVATION   OF   THE   JEWS.  I05 

The  text  further  emphasizes, 

III.  THE  PRINCIPLE  OF  SELF-SACRIFICE  WHICH  ENA- 
BLES MEN  TO  BE  ACCEPTABLE  INSTRUMENTS  OF 
THE   DIVINE   GOVERNMENT. 

In  this  awful  crisis  it  was  pretty  clear  to  the  mind 
of  Mordecai  that  the  one  possibility  of  human  help 
lay  with  the  queen,  that  her  place  on  the  bosom  of  the 
king  must  at  this  supreme  juncture  afford  her  the 
opportunity  of  interposing  for  her  people.  Then, 
again,  her  own  feelings  must  be  such  that  the  appeal 
from  their  distress  becomes  irresistible.  And,  doubt- 
less, if  the  customs  and  privileges  of  the  court  had 
made  this  an  ordinary  office  for  her,  if  Persia  had  been 
the  United  States  and  the  palace  our  own  White 
House,  she  would  quickly  have  fled  with  her  remon- 
strance and  prayer  to  the  presence  of  the  sovereign. 
But  in  an  Eastern  despotism  such  a  course  is  not  to 
be  thought  of.  In  Persia  it  involved  almost  certain 
death.  "All  the  king's  servants,  and  the  i)eople  of 
the  king's  provinces  do  know,  that  whosoever,  whether 
man  or  woman  shall  come  unto  the  king  in  the  inner 
court,  who  is  not  called,  there  w  o)ie  lazu  of  his  to  put 
him  to  death,  except  such  to  whom  the  king  shall  hold 
out  the  golden  sceptre,  that  he  may  live :  but  /  have 
not  been  called  to  come  in  unto  the  king  these  thirty 
days."  This  indicates  at  what  peril  Esther  would  enter 
uncalled  the  royal  presence. 

This  law  was  no  dead  letter — no  extravagant 
oriental  phraseology.  Nor  could  she  have  the  least 
ground   for  presuming  upon  any  especial   forbearance 


Io6  THE   HIGHER    ROCK. 

or  grace  on  the  part  of  the  monarch.  Her  own  mar- 
riage with  him  was  the  result  of  his  stern  and  remorse- 
less disposition.  A  former  queen,  who  had  dared  to 
oppose  his  wishes,  he  had  driven  out  from  his  palace, 
though  her  remarkable  charms  had  made  her  the  pride 
and  the  joy  of  his  heart. 

This  cruel,  inexorable  tyrant,  who  for  thirty  days 
had  kept  his  queen  from  his  presence,  she  was  asked 
to  approach,  in  defiance  of  sacred  and  inviolable  usage, 
with  intercessions  for  her  doomed  people,  and  that, 
too,  in  the  face  of  a  decree  which  by  his  authority  had 
been  already  promulgated,  and  which  no  principle  of 
Persian  law  would  sufifer  to  be  revoked.  To  make 
the  endeavor  was  to  enter  the  jaws  of  death.  And 
she  would  have  been  more  than  human  had  she  not 
shrunk  from  the  dreadful  encounter.  But  the  appeals 
of  her  dear  kinsman,  the  gravity  of  the  situation,  the 
appalling  calamity  that  was  lowering,  the  convictions 
and  hopes  of  her  religion,  all  combined  to  bring  her 
to  the  heroic  decision.  Fully  sensible  of  the  hazard 
assumed,  and  prepared  for  the  issue,  whatever  it  might 
be,  she  resolves,  in  language  never  to  be  forgotten,  to 
make  the  venture :  "I  will  go  in  unto  the  king,  which 
is  not  according  to  the  law' — and  if  I  perish.  I  perish!" 
Noble  daring,  majestic  courage,  sublime  self-sacrifice ! 
No  need  of  marble  or  brass  to  enshrine  for  immortal- 
ity this  act  of  moral  grandeur.  For  the  relief  of  others 
she  perilled  her  all.  For  the  deliverance  of  her  people 
she  put  at  stake  her  exalted  station,  her  diadem,  her 
very  life.     And  her  name  will  never  die. 

It  is  self-devotion  like  this  to  the  good  of  others. 


THE    PRESERVATION   OF   THE   JEWS.  107 

self-forgetful  services  to  our  kind,  a  willingness  to 
stand  in  the  breach  that  others  may  escape,  an  unfal- 
tering readiness  to  brook  danger,  trial,  loss,  dishonor, 
death  itself,  in  behalf  of  those  whom  it  is  possible  for 
us  to  relieve,  or  to  bless,  that  makes  men  heroes  in  the 
strife  and  furnishes  the  moral  requisites  for  the  amelio- 
ration of  humanity. 

But  for  this  act  of  self-sacrifice  there  was  to 
human  reason  no  possible  deliverance  for  Israel.  But 
for  the  similar  self-devotion  of  Moses,  who  chose  to 
suffer  affliction  with  his  kindred  rather  than  enjoy 
the  treasures  and  pleasures  of  Egypt,  the  chosen  peo- 
ple were  destined  to  perish  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile. 
But  for  the  crowning  example  of  this  principle  upon 
Calvary  there  would  have  been  no  redemption  from 
sin,  no  escape  from  the  wrath  to  come.  The  Son  of 
Man  came  to  give  Himself  a  ransom  for  us ;  He  died, 
the  just  for  the  unjust,  and  became  propitiation  for 
the  sins  of  the  whole  world.  And  by  His  own  provi- 
sion this  principle  of  self-sacrifice  was  made  the  stand- 
ard of  discipleship  for  His  followers:  "If  any  man  will 
come  after  Me,  let  him  deny  himself  and  take  up  his 
cross,  and  follow  Me.  For  whosoever  will  save  his 
life  shall  lose  it;  and  whosoever  will  lose  his  life  for 
My  sake  shall  find  it."  Without  this  principle  no  ser- 
vice for  God  or  man  has  any  intrinsic  worth  or  any 
accredited  marks  of  genuine  beneficence.  It  is  doubt- 
ful whether  any  progress,  any  social  reform,  any  good 
work  has  ever  been  accomplished  for  mankind  with- 
out the  exercise  of  self-devotion.  Certainly  no  state 
has   ever   risen   to   independence,   no   nation   has   ever 


I08  THE   HIGHER    ROCK. 

achieved  glory,  no  people  have  ever  been  freed  from 
bondage  or  from  barbarism  without  the  sacrifice  of 
many  for  the  good  of  others.  No  beneficent  institu- 
tions are  possible,  no  home  can  be  founded,  no  family 
can  live  together,  no  children  can  be  reared  except  by 
the  law  of  self-sacrifice. 

Its  application  is  of  universal  force.  Who  would 
board  a  vessel  to  cross  the  deep,  who  would  even  trust 
to  ride  for  an  hour  on  the  railway  but  for  the  confi- 
dence that  those  in  charge  will  peril  their  own  lives 
before  they  will  suffer  ours  to  be  endangered?  That 
virtue,  then,  of  which  the  text  furnishes  such  a  thrill- 
ing and  illustrious  example,  is  what  in  other  spheres 
and  in  an  obscurer  lot  is  constantly  required  of  every 
one  of  us.  That  we  ever  find  it  in  us  to  spare  our- 
selves to  secure  first  our  own  advantage  and  safety, 
only  shows  how  we  may  become  lost  to  the  best 
instincts  and  noblest  capacities  of  our  being,  as  well  as 
recreant  to  the  clearest  teachings  of  nature  and  revela- 
tion. O,  if  by  grace  we  should  rise  from  our  self- 
seeking,  and  quench  the  supreme  care  for  our  happi- 
ness, what  relief  for  our  fellow-men  and  what  improve- 
ments we  might  effect !  What  moral  heroism  we 
might  achieve !  What  blessings  we  might  diffuse ! 
How  sublime  we  could  make  our  lives ! 


VI.     THE   REJECTED   PHARISEE. 

[From    Homilettc    Review.] 

The  Pharisee  stood  and  prayed  tlius  with  himself:  God,  I  thank 
thee,  that  I  am  not  as  other  men  are.  extortionists,  unjust,  adulterers,  or 
even  as  this  publican.  I  fast  twice  in  the  week,  I  give  tithes  of  all 
that    I    possess. — Luke   xviii.    11-12. 

The  various  persons  which  figure  in  sacred  history 
possess,  as  a  rule,  a  typical  interest.  They  personate 
respectively  certain  varieties  of  the  species.  The  vari- 
ety represented  by  the  Pharisee  is  not  extinct.  The 
characteristics  of  that  class  were  not  merely  an  out- 
growth of  corrupt  Judaism.  Their  appearance  was 
not  limited  to  the  peculiar  religious  circumstances 
which  attended  the  introduction  of  the  Gospel.  Phari- 
sees flourish  on  Christian  as  well  as  on  Jewish  soil. 
Without  being  organized  into  a  party  or  a  sect  the\- 
still  abound,  scattered  among  all  sects.  Their  presence 
may  be  detected  in  every  congregation.  They  sit  dis- 
guised often  as  leading  members ;  as  of  old  they 
occupy  chief  seats  in  the  synagogue. 

It  is  unfortunate  that  this  particular  Pharisee. 
who  went  up  into  the  temple  to  pray,  has  been  much 
misunderstood  and  grossly  misrepresented.  Accord- 
ing to  a  popular  impression  he  was  a  base  fellow,  alto- 
gether devoid  of  principle ;  a  vile,  despicable,  superla- 
tive wretch.  Now  there  is  nothing  in  the  record  to 
justify  such  estimate  of  the  man  before  us.  There  is 
positively  no   reproach   cast   upon   him.     His  conduct, 

(109) 


no  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

SO  far  as  it  is  outlined  here,  stands  unaccused  of  any 
criminal  actions,  free  from  every  serious  irregularity. 
The  facts  as  they  appear  make  him 

1.  A  moral  man,  according  to  a  common  accept- 
ation of  morality.  He  is  chargeable  with  nothing 
criminal.  He  is  guilty  of  no  wrong.  There  is  no  evi- 
dence of  any  scandalous  vice.  His  own  portrait  of 
himself  as  he  stood  praying,  is  accepted  as  faithful  and 
correct.  The  man's  naive  claim  to  various  virtues  is 
not  disputed.  He  is  better  than  many  others  are.  He 
is  confessedly  no  "extortioner" — that  is,  according  to 
the  interpretation  of  the  original  word,  he  does  not 
seek  to  possess  himself  of  his  neighbor's  property  by 
force.  His  hands  are  free  from  violence  and  blood. 
Nor  is  he  unjust  or  unfair  in  his  business  relations. 
He  has  wronged  no  man,  either  by  force  or  fraud. 
This  is  clearly  the  import  of  the  first  two  terms.  And 
he  does  not  wallow  in  the  filth  of  uncleanness.  He  is 
no  adulterer.    He  is  represented,  likewise,  as  being 

2.  A  strictly  pious  man.  He  is  conscientiously 
attentive  to  all  religious  ordinances.  He  is  a  devout 
worshipper ;  stands  reverently  in  the  temple  of  God, 
engages  in  prayer,  not  only  there,  but,  as  we  well  know, 
on  the  corners  of  the  streets  and  in  the  house  of  mourn- 
ing for  the  solace  of  the  widow.  He  makes  thankful 
acknowledgment  of  the  divine  favor  which  has  dis- 
tinguished him  above  others,  especially  in  religious 
character.  He  maintains,  twice  a  week,  a  solemn  and 
severe  fast.  He  is  shown  to  be  eminently  and  system- 
atically liberal,  and,  as  we  learn  from  the  practices  of 


THE    REJECTED    PHARISEE.  Ill 

his  sect,  he  is  uncommonly  scrupulous  in  keeping  the 
Sabbath  day. 

In  fact,  clnirch  members  possessed  of  the  quaHfi- 
cations  of  this  Pharisee  are  to-day  held  in  very  hij:^h 
esteem  by  pastors  and  congregations.  They  are  in 
demand  everywhere.  A  church  made  up  of  such  peo- 
ple would  rank  as  a  model.  Its  Christian  zeal  and 
saintly  piety  would  attract  universal  attention.  God's 
favor  is  presumed  to  rest  signally  upon  the  organiza- 
tion. What  solemnity  reigns  on  the  Sabbath !  What 
devoutness  marks  their  worship !  How  full  their 
prayer-meetings,  and  what  readiness  on  the  part  of 
every  one  to  lead  in  public  prayer!  And  what  sums 
are  given  to  the  Lord !  The  tenth  of  everything ! 
Apportionments  are  raised  to  the  uttermost  farthing; 
the  pastor  is  promptly  paid  according  to  contract;  no 
church  debt  is  ever  possible.  Such  a  people  are,  in- 
deed, exemplary — in  their  way.  They  may  well  thank 
God  that  they  are  not  as  other  men  are,  either  in  the 
church  or  out  of  it. 

W^hat  more  could,  in  fact,  be  expected  or  required  ? 
How  can  a  soul  endowed  with  all  these  excellences  be 
rejected  and  condemned  by  a  merciful  judge?  Who 
can  be  saved,  if  that  strict  Pharisee  was  lost?  Ay, 
there's  the  rub !  That  one  possessed  of  these  conspic- 
uous moral  and  religious  attributes  was  held  u\^  by 
our  Lord  and  Savior  as  lacking  the  essential  rec|uisites 
of  salvation,  is  enough  to  startle  every  one  that  has 
felt  secure  and  sat  at  ease  in  Zion.  If  a  vital  defect 
somewhere   vitiated   and   nullified   this   man's   moralitv 


112  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

and  religion,  it  becomes  a  matter  of  intense    practical 
interest  to  ascertain  the  nature  of  that  defect ;  in  other 
words,  to  examine  into  the:  grounds  of  the  Phari- 
SE^e's  re;j^ction. 
We  mention : 

I.       HIS    SELF-SATISFACTION    IN    VlFW    OF    THE     POSSES- 
SION OF  A  FEW  VIRTUES. 

The  man  boasts  that  he  is  not  a  robber,  not  a 
cheat,  not  an  adulterer.  Of  these  offenses  he  is,  hap- 
ily,  blameless :  but  is  this  the  extent  of  ll.e  ir.oral  law-, 
the  sum  total  of  human  duty?  Do  three  negative  vir- 
tues comprise  the  entire  range  of  obligation  which  is 
involved  in  man's  relation  to  his  fellow-man  ?  Is  every 
bond  of  humanity  canceled,  every  debt  disch.arged, 
when  a  man  requires  no  police  to  keep  him  decent,  no 
judge  to  make  him  honest,  no  jealous  husband  to  pro- 
tect females  from  his  lust?  Might  he  not  pass  muster 
on  these  points,  and  yet  fail  in  a  thousand  others  and 
be  lacking  every  positive  moral  quality?  There  is  no 
evidence  that  this  Pharisee  had  the  faintest  vestige  of 
benevolence,  sympathy,  generosity,  or  kindness  in  his 
breast.  His  heart  was  probably  devoid  of  every  ten- 
der feeling.  He  may  have  been  supremely  selfish, 
without  one  spark  of  human  pity,  without  one  thought 
of  doing  anything  to  ameliorate  the  lot  of  the  unfor- 
tunate. 

Correct  behavior  in  some  respects  is  no  proof  of 
a  sound  moral  character ;  and  morality  is,  at  all  events, 
not  a  matter  of  figures — three,  seven,  ten  virtues !  It 
is  a  state  of  mind,  the  exponent  of  a  sound  conscience 


THE   REJECTED   PHARISEE.  I13 

that  seeks  to  observe  every  duty  and  to  be  faithful  in 
every  human  relation.  No  robber,  no  rogue,  no  rake ! 
How  much,  after  all,  does  that  say  for  an  individual? 
^^llat  sort  of  a  neighbor  was  he?  What  had  he  ever 
done  for  the  poor,  for  the  orphan,  for  the  sufferer? 
Whose  tear  had  he  ever  dried,  whose  wound  had  he 
bathed,  whose  burden  had  he  borne?  What  sort  of  a 
husband,  what  kind  of  a  father,  was  he?  With  his 
boasted  virtues,  he  may  have  been  a  brute,  with  whom 
no  wife  could  have  Hved ;  a  monster  of  hatefulness 
and  cruelty  from  whom  children  would  flee  in  disgust 
and  dismay.  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  the  most  hor- 
rible traits  of  dc]iravity  dwell  often  side  by  side  with 
some  shining  virtues,  and  the  most  execrable  speci- 
mens of  the  race  have  not  been  without  redeeming 
qualities.  To  hope,  therefore,  that  with  a  few  virtues 
you  may  reach  heavenly  bliss  beyond  the  deep  waters 
of  death,  is  to  attempt,  with  a  few  fragile  stones,  to 
spring  an  arch  across  the  vast  abyss.  If  but  one  stone 
be  wanting,  this  passage  to  eternal  life  is  impossible. 
"For  whosoever  shall  keep  the  whole  law  and  yet 
offend  in  one  point,  he  is  guilty  of  all." 

II.       HIS   SELF-SATISFACTION    IX   VIFW   OF   HIS  RXTERNAL 
RELIGIOUS    OBSERVANCES. 

In  that  which  constitutes  the  outward  forms  of 
piety  the  Pharisee  doubtless  excelled.  He  kept  the 
Sabbath  strictly,  he  was  regular  at  divine  worship, 
rigid  in  fasting,  diligent  in  prayer,  glowing  with  zeal, 
and  giving  a  large  proportion  of  his  income  to  the 
8 


114  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

Church.  If  only  God  could  be  satisfied  or  duped  with 
punctilious  masquerading  in  religious  service,  this 
Pharisee  must  have  drawn  forth  the  smiling  approval 
and  fervid  encomium  of  Heaven.  But  God  is  a  Spirit. 
The  worship  which  He  requires,  the  only  worship  that 
is  consonant  with  His  nature  and  consistent  with  His 
will,  is  spiritual  worship.  He  requires  truth  in  the 
inward  parts.  The  trick  of  drawing  nigh  unto  Him 
with  the  mouth  and  honoring  Him  with  the  lips,  while 
the  heart  is  kept  far  removed  from  Him,  was  long  ago 
exposed.  God's  abhorrence  of  this  mumm-'y  has  not 
been  specially  concealed.  It  argues,  indeed,  very 
poorly  for  human  intelligence  that  any  one  should 
insult  the  divine  perfections  with  such  a  parade  of 
hypocrisy !  There  must  be,  in  the  nature  of  things, 
an  outward  form  in  our  public  worship,  a  sensible 
manifestation  of  spiritual  states  and  exercises.  Out 
of  the  abundance  of  the  heart  the  mouth  speaketh. 
But  the  outward  must  be  a  faithful  transcript  of  the 
inward.  Otherwise  the  devotional  act  is  a  lie  unto 
God,  as  glaring  and  wicked  as  the  lie  of  Ananias  ?nd 
Sapphira.  Speech  and  action  must  be  true  mirror  of 
thought  and  affection.  The  lips  and  the  life  must  be 
the  correct  expression  and  index  of  the  heart. 

The  proper  relation  between  the  external  and  in- 
ternal always  forms  an  attractive  study.  Each  has  its 
place,  and  when  they  harmonize,  when  the  former  fitly 
corresponds  with  the  latter,  when  the  outer  world 
reveals  and  embodies  the  inner  and  invisible  spirit,  the 
intrinsic   worth  and   office  of  each   are   very   striking. 


THE    REJECTED    PHARISEE.  II5 

But  with  what  mockery  that  wliich  is  without  some- 
times attempts  to  disguise  what  is  witliin. 

What  a  difference,  for  instance,  between  outside 
finery  and  genuine  refinement!  How  ludicrous  and 
pitiable  the  efforts  of  a  woman,  arrayed  in  all  ihe  ele- 
gance and  splendor  of  millinery  art,  to  pass  for  a  lady, 
as  long  as  she  lacks  the  elements  of  real  gentility,  pol- 
ish and  culture !  To  what  purpose  is  all  her  parade 
of  extrinsic  ornamentation  and  style  while  she  is  inher- 
ently coarse  and  vulgar!  Only  stupid  people  are 
imposed  on  by  such  affectation  of  quality ;  only  bar- 
barians take  tinsel  and  trumpery  in  exchange  for  com- 
modities of  real  value.  Enlightened  and  acute  minds 
generally  distinguish  shadow  from  substance.  And 
God  is  not  mocked  by  the  affectation  of  pious  conduct. 
Men  may  be  deceived,  not  God.  He  knows  your  hearts. 
True  religion  is  in  His  light  something  more  than  easy 
observances  and  cheap  formalities. 

Sacred,  appropriate  and  necessary  as  the  ordi- 
nances of  religion  are  as  vehicles  of  spiritual  exercises, 
they  can  never,  before  the  eye  of  Omniscience,  become 
a  substitute  for  a  broken  heart  and  a  contrite  spirit. 
Not  he  that  keeps  the  Sabbath,  not  he  that  goes  to 
church,  but  the  pure  in  heart,  shall  see  God.  Not  he 
that  gives,  nor  he  that  fasts,  but  he  that  loveth  is  born 
of  God.  "Though  I  speak  with  the  tongues  of  men 
and  of  angels  and  have  not  charity,  I  am  become  as 
sounding  brass.  And  though  I  bestow  all  my  goods  to 
feed  the  poor,  and  though  I  give  my  body  to  be  burned, 
and  have  not  charity,  it  profiteth  me  nothing." 


Il6  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

Underneath  this  outward  show  of  godliness  there 
may  have  been  a  heart  as  destitute  of  love  of  God  and 
man  as  an  adamant,  as  black  with  malignity  as  the 
spirit  of  a  fiend,  as  full  of  bitter  envies  as  the  breast 
of  the  first  murderer  who  slew  his  brother  "because 
his  own  works  were  evil  and  his  brother's  righteous." 
That  commendable  exterior,  like  a  whited  sepulchre, 
was  but  a  covering  for  putrescent  rottenness  within, 
a  beautiful  screen  for  the  foulest  affections,  the  most 
odious  thoughts,  and  the  most  wicked  purposes.  Pride 
and  greed  and  selfishness,  hatred  and  cruelty  and  spite, 
may  have  reveled  in  that  soul  like  reptiles  in  a  putrid 
pool. 

Herein  lay  the  overwhelming  deficiency,  the  mon- 
strous sin  of  the  Pharisees.  They  gave  supreme  atten- 
tion to  externals.  Having  cleansed  with  great  scrupu- 
losity the  outside  of  a  bowl,  they  swallowed  the  filth 
of  the  contents  without  a  qualm.  "Ye  also  appear  out- 
wardly righteous  unto  men,"  said  Jesus,  "but  within 
ye  are  are  full  of  hypocrisy  and  iniquity."  They  were 
singularly  absorbed  in  externality.  Appf^arances  were 
everything.  They  did  their  alms  sounding  a  trumpet 
before  them,  that  they  might  have  glory  of  men.  They 
offered  their  prayers  in  conspicuous  places,  that  they 
might  be  seen  of  men.  They  performed  their  fasts 
disfiguring  their  faces,  that  they  might  appear  unto 
men  to  fast,  perverting  thus  the  holiest  rites  of  religion 
into  instruments  of  low  ambition  and  sordid  self-inter- 
est. 

And  then,  what  is  most  astonishing  of  all,  they 
depended   on   this   horrible   pervasion   of   sacred   ordi- 


THE   REJECTED    PHARISEE.  II7 

nances  for  salvation.  Because  of  these  thinj^s  they 
considered  themselves,  par  excellence,  the  heirs  of  the 
kingdom  of  God.  Xo  wonder  that  these  hypocrites 
evoked  the  fiercest  denunciation  of  the  world's  Savior, 
that  large  portions  of  His  discourses  are  occupied  with 
the  woes  denounced  upon  them. 

Let  us  beware  that  we  do  not  fall  into  the  same 
wretched  system  of  externalism.  We  are  as  liable  to 
this  danger  as  were  the  Jews  of  old.  We  are  given 
too  much  to  parading  our  religious  character.  As  some 
one  has  forcibly  put  it,  "our  religion  is  too  much  below 
the  elbows."  It  consists  mostly  in  outward  activity 
and  publicity.  There  is  too  great  a  disproportion 
between  the  closet  and  the  platform.  To  be  a  regular 
church-goer,  to  pray  in  public,  to  be  a  habitual  com- 
municant, to  give  largely — are  these  not  the  things 
most  emphasized  in  many  pulpits  to-day ;  and  are  not 
those  who  excel  in  these  held  up  as  pillars,  and  pointed 
to  as  blessed  examples  ?  Yet,  almost  every  issue  of  the 
press  contains  disclosures  of  atrocious  villainies  perpe- 
trated by  persons  whose  outward  devotedness  to  relig- 
ion had  won  them  universal  confidence.  Tithing  mint 
and  rue.  they  passed  over  judgment  and  the  love  of 
God. 

"These  ought  ye  to  have  done,"  says  the  Lord, 
"and  not  to  leave  the  other  undone."  "Keep  thy  heart 
with  all  diligence,  for  out  of  it  are  the  issues  of  life." 
"The  fruits  of  the  Spirit  are  love,  joy,  peace,  long- 
suffering,  goodness,  gentleness,  faith,  meekness,  tem- 
perance." "The  greatest  of  these  is  charity."  "The 
kingdom  of  God  is  unthin  you." 


Il8  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

III.       HIS    SE^LF-SATISFACTION     IN    VIEW    OF    HIS    FAVOR- 
ABI^e;  COMPARISON   WITH  OTHERS. 

After  estimating  himself  from  the  standpoint  of 
the  moral  law  and  by  the  standard  of  outward  religious 
requirements,  he  next  institutes  a  comparison  between 
himself  and  other  men,  and  comes  to  a  very  satisfac- 
tory and  proud  conclusion.  He  first  tests  himself  by 
the  conduct  of  men  in  general,  and,  enumerating  extor- 
tioners, unjust  and  adulterers,  the  result  is  highly 
favorable.  "Thank  God,  I  am  not  one  of  the  criminal 
class !"  Finally,  how  striking  the  contrast  between  him 
and  the  publican,  who  followed  an  unpopular  calling 
and  who  might  be  considered  a  prodigy  of  sin ! 

All  this  is  quite  natural.  We  are  constitutionally 
disposed  to  be  imitators.  And  in  consequence  of  this, 
we  are  sure  to  draw  comparisons  between  ourselves 
and  others,  and  ascertain  what  degree  of  equality  or  of 
superiority  obtains.  And  in  this  forensic  process  we 
always  judge  ourselves  quite  partially.  For  we  see 
others'  defects  and  faults  much  mor<=  easily  than  our 
own.  Then,  too,  we  are  sure,  like  the  Pharisee,  to 
select  for  comparison  some  one  of  unsavory  repute. 
He  might  have  found  for  this  purpose  better  specimens 
of  society  than  swindlers,  libertines,  and  publicans ;  but 
the  result  would  not  have  been  so  agreeable.  To  have 
discovered  that  some  men  were  better  than  himself 
would  have  been  galling.  He  was  not  engaged  just 
then  in  cultivating  humility.  He  was  no  John  Brad- 
ford, who,  on  seeing  a  man  led  to  the  gallows, 
exclaimed :  "There  goes  John  Bradford,  but  for  the 
grace  of  God." 


THE    REJECTED    PHARISEE.  II9 

We  generally  adopt  the  Pharisee's  method.  We 
hold  up  to  disparagement  and  condemnation  some  of 
the  baser  sort.  How  quickly  and  how  gladly  we  perceive 
our  superiority  !  We  ar-e  not  like  them,  thieves,  swear- 
ers, drunkards,  outcasts.  How  good  we  are,  in  com- 
parison, thank  Heaven!  It  does,  somehow,  not  occur 
to  us  to  compare  ourselves  with  those  whose  temper 
and  life  are  confessedly  noble,  lovely,  and  stainless. 
This  betrays  our  insincerity,  our  disinclination  to  find 
a  higher  plane  of  living,  our  unwillingness  to  rise  to 
a  truly  good  and  holy  life.  We  are  entirely  satisfied 
with  our  pitiful  attainments.  The  kind  of  comparisons 
we  draw  strengthens  this  satisfaction.  We  are  good 
enough,  better  than  many  we  know  of. 

Measuring  ourselves  by  others,  if  honestly  and 
fairly  conducted,  might  not  be  altogether  unprofitable ; 
but  there  is  only  One  w^hom  we  are  warranted  in 
making  our  model.  Jesus  Christ  is  the  one  touchstone 
by  which  men  are  either  to  rise  or  to  fall.  Only  an 
absolute  standard  is  of  any  worth  in  testing  moral 
qualities ;  only  the  likeness  which  one  bears  to  Christ 
is  sure  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Let  a  man  bravely 
view  himself  in  this  mirror,  and  he  will  see  another 
picture  than  that  drawn  by  the  Pharisee.  He  will  fail 
to  notice  his  superiority  to  others,  even  the  worst  of 
men.  He  will  abhor  the  sight  of  himself,  and  will  prob- 
ably, like  Paul,  call  himself  the  chief  of  sinners. 

And  only  such  a  one  has  the  promise  of  mercy. 
"I  came  not,"  said  He  who  came  to  save,  "to  call  the 
righteous,  but  sinners,  to  repentance."  As  long  as  a 
soul    is   pufiFed    up    with    spiritual    self-assurance    and 


I20  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

boasts  even  before  God  of  its  superior  moral  and  relig- 
ious excellence,  it  can  have  no  part  in  the  divine  mercy. 
Let  us  be  warned  by  this  example  to  put  no  trust  in 
ourselves,  no  confidence  in  our  virtues,  no  faith  in  our 
outward  religious  exercises,  no  reliance  on  our  sup- 
posed superiority.  Not  the  Pharisee,  but  the  publican, 
points  us  to  the  way  of  life,  and  that  more  pleasing 
subject  we  hope  to  consider  at  an  early  day. 


VII.     THE  ACCEPTED  PUBLICAN,  A  MODEL 
CASE  OF  REPENTANCE. 

[From    Homiletic    Review.] 

And  the  publican,  standing  afar  off,  would  not  lift  up  so  much 
as  his  eyes  unto  heaven,  but  smote  upon  his  breast,  saying,  God  be 
merciful  to  me  a  sinner.  I  tell  you,  this  man  went  down  to  his  house 
justified. — I.vKE  xviii.    13-14- 

The  publican  represents  the  lower  classes.  I  use 
the  term  "lower"  in  its  moral  significance.  High  and 
low  are  strangely  intermixed  in  the  strata  of  human 
society.  Some  who  stand  high  in  the  world  are  exceed- 
ingly low  and  degraded  in  the  moral  scale.  This  pub- 
lican may  have  been  rich  like  Zaccheus,  who  belonged 
to  the  same  caste ;  but  wealth  was  not  a  passport  to 
good  society  among  the  Jews.  To  see  these  specimens 
of  abandoned  character  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God 
was  a  terrible  shock  to  the  righteous  feelings  of  the 
Pharisees.  In  this  they  had  evidence  enough  that  the 
Rabbi  from  Nazareth  was  not  the  Messiah.  The  com 
pany  of  these  social  outcasts  was  all-sufificient  to  invali- 
date every  claim  to  be  put  forward  to  a  divine  con.- 
mission.  To  receive  sinners  and  to  eat  with  them,  this 
was  horrible  in  one  who  professed  to  fulfill  all  the  law 
and  the  prophets. 

Well,  this  central  truth  of  the  Gospel  is  hard  to 
understand — for  the  natural  man,  and  these  Pharisees 
had  been  especially  blinded  by  their  own  perversions 
and  falsifications  of  revealed  truth. 

(121) 


122  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

The  fact  that  the  pubHcan,  when  he  cried  for 
mercy,  was  accepted,  must  not  be  construed  as  imply- 
ing any  extenuation  of  his  wicked  courses.  This  par- 
able puts  no  premium  on  sin.  The  man  was,  indeed, 
not  justified  because  his  Hfe  had  been  any  better  than 
that  of  the  Pharisee.  It  had,  in  all  probability,  been 
much  worse.  The  real,  vital  and  ultimate  distinction 
between  the  two  men  did  not  arise  from  the  essential 
moral  dissimilarity  between  their  characters.  There 
was,  doubtless,  more  for  God  to  approve  in  the  past  life 
of  the  Pharisee  than  in  that  of  the  publican.  The  real 
contrast  lay  in  their  present  attitude,  as  they  stood 
before  the  altar  of  the  Holy  and  Omniscient  One,  and 
it  admits  of  a  familiar  illustration.  Of  two  men,  both 
aflfected  with  with  a  dangerous  malady,  the  one  obtains 
relief,  the  other  does  not.  In  the  case  of  the  former, 
the  disease  develops  very  alarming  symptoms.  The 
victim  realizes  his  great  danger.  He  feels  the  urgent 
need  of  a  physician.  He  avails  himself  of  the  proper 
remedies,  and  thereby  succeeds  in  the  recovery  of  his 
health.  The  latter,  though  a  prey  to  the  same  terrible 
disorder,  does  not  become  aware  of  his  diseased  con- 
dition. He  makes  light  of  any  mild  symptoms  that 
reveal  themselves.  He  feels  strong,  well  and  hardy. 
No  medicine  for  hiui.  No  physician  with  his  Gilead 
balm.  Though  his  friends  clearly  discern  the  wasting 
progress  of  the  inward  malady,  he  persuades  himself 
that  all  is  well,  he  has  need  of  nothing.  He  attends  to 
his  daily  avocation  with  a  vigor  that  indicates  perfect 
health  and  soundness,  and  knows  not  that  he  is 
wretched  and  miserable.     While  he  dreams  of  health. 


THE    ACCEPTED    PUBLICAN.  1 23 

the  fatal  malady  is  slowly  consuming  him.  Appar- 
ently in  a  far  better  condition  than  the  other,  his  sur- 
face symptoms  deceive  him.  and  he  dies  a  victim  to  the 
horrible  disease,  from  which  the  other,  though  almost 
in  the  jaws  of  death,  was  rescued  by  a  never-failing 
remedv.  The  one  who  seemingly  suffered  the  lighter 
attack  perishes,  the  one  whose  case  was  most  critical 
escapes.  The  one  accepted  the  aid  of  a  physician,  the 
other  spurned  it. 

In  this  relation  to  God  the  primary  and  funda- 
mental distinction  between  men  rests  not  in  the  varying 
extent  of  their  sinfulness,  or  in  the  relative  grade  of 
their  moral  obliquity ;  but  a  dividing  line  is  drawn  by 
the  self-consciousness  of  their  sins  and  the  desire  to  be 
freed  from  them.  Here  alone  can  parallels  be  run 
which  are  recognized  by  God.  Not  more  or  fewer  sins 
make  any  difference  as  to  our  acceptance,  but  the  pres- 
ence or  the  absence  of  the  desire  to  be  pardoned  and 
cleansed  from  all  sin. 

Hence  the  publican  presents  to  us 

A    MODEL   CASE  OF   SAVING   REPENTANCE. 
L      IN  HIS  CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 

He  has  come  to  the  true  knowledge  of  himself, 
making  the  discovery  that  he  is  a  sinner.  Like  the 
Prodigal,  "he  has  come  to  himself."  He  has  gained  a 
proper  estimate  of  his  condition.  He  views  his  moral 
state  in  its  true  light.  A  consciousness  of  guilt  burns 
within  the  soul.    His  heart  is  not  right  toward  God. 

This  self-knowledge  is  the  starting-point  for  all 
true  religion.     A  man  must  know  the  truth  concerning 


124  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

himself,  must  realize  his  alienation  from  God,  his  spirit- 
ual poverty,  the  enmity  of  his  heart  to  the  fountain  of 
all  good.  Illumination  is  the  first  stage  in  conversion 
when  the  light  of  divine  truth  reveals  to  the  sinner  his 
moral  nakedness,  the  great  length  to  which  he  has  wan- 
dered away  from  his  heavenly  Father,  and  the  dire 
wretchedness  in  which  he  is  involved  by  his  violation 
of  divine  law,  the  dawn  of  a  new  life  begins  to  glow 
in  his  breast.  The  voice  of  God  is  becoming  effectual 
within  him. 

But  do  not  all  men,  especially  under  the  general 
diffusion  of  the  light  of  the  Gospel,  have  this  convic- 
tion of  sin?  With  conscience  witnessing  against  him 
continually,  with  all  the  teaching,  writing  and  preach- 
ing that  is  done  in  the  Christian  world,  surely  every 
one  knows  that  his  life  is  not  what  it  ought  to  be,  that 
he  is  guilty  of  sin,  and  that  his  sinful  condition  cannot 
have  the  smile  of  God.  Yet  the  Pharisee  who  stood  in 
view  of  the  publican  felt  nothing  of  his  sins.  In  his 
prayer  it  never  occurs  to  him  to  ask  forgiveness.  The 
young  man  who  came  to  the  Master  asking  what  he 
should  do  to  inherit  eternal  life,  had  no  sense  of  guilt, 
for  when  referred  to  the  Commandments,  he  replied, 
"All  these  have  I  kept  from  my  youth  up."  He  never, 
in  his  estimation,  was  guilty  of  a  single  transgression. 
Even  when  the  more  intense  light  of  the  Gospel  begins 
to  penetrate  the  minds  of  men,  they  can  draw  down  the 
blinds,  close  the  shutters  and  darken  the  room,  until, 
after  all,  nothing  is  clearly  distinguished.  Loving 
darkness  rather  than  light,  they  keep  out  the  unwel- 
come  rays   of  truth,   they   shut   themselves   up   in   the 


THE    ACCEPTED    PUBLICAN.  1 25 

darkness  of  their  own  understanding,  they  try  not  to 
believe  the  terrible  facts  of  their  spiritual  ruin  and 
strenuously  resist  the  truth  until  they  succeed  in  elud- 
ing its  piercing  power.  The  light  shineth  in  tl^e  dark- 
ness, but  the  darkness  comprehendeth  it  not.  '"Ye  do 
always  resist  the  Holy  Ghost."  said  the  martyr  Ste- 
phen to  the  stiff-necked  and  uncircumcised  in  heart 
and  ears.  Hence,  blindness  happens  unto  them,  and 
in  their  self-chosen  ignorance  they  stagger  on  to  ir- 
remediable ruin. 

It  was  otherwise  with  the  publican.  A  conviction 
had  been  wrought  in  him  that  all  was  not  well,  that  all 
was  not  right  between  him  and  his  God.  The  sacred 
bond  was  broken.  His  soul  could  have  no  peace.  He 
saw,  he  knew,  he  felt,  that  he  was  a  sinner.  He  may 
not  have  known  the  magnitude  of  his  sins,  the  awful 
depths  into  which  he  had  fallen,  or  the  terrible  heiu- 
ousness  of  an  ungodly  life.  He  probably  understood 
but  little  of  the  philosophy  of  the  theology  of  sin,  of  its 
classification  into  original  and  actual,  venial  and  mor- 
tal, omission  and  commission.  He  simply  realized  that 
he  w^as  lacking  true  righteousness,  that  he  had  been  dis- 
obedient to  his  Maker,  a  transgressor,  an  offender 
against  a  holy  God,  and  that  he  now  stood  condemned 
before  the  Supreme  Judge  of  all  the  earth. 

11.      IX    HIS   COXFESSIOX   OF   SIX. 

It  is  remarkable  that,  even  when  men  come  to  rec- 
ognize their  sins,  they  find  it  exceedingly  difficult  to 
confess  them.  They  hedge  about  it  and  avoid  it  as 
long  as  possible.     They  invent  some  soothing  pallia- 


126  THE   HIGHER   ROCK. 

tions  or  specious  excvise  which  put  a  somewhat  altered 
aspect  upon  their  conduct,  and  place  it  in  a  false  light. 
They  have  great  fertility  of  apologies,  comforting  de- 
fences, and  crafty  evasions  by  which,  after  all,  their 
sins  do  not  look  so  exceedingly  sinful. 

Let  us  notice  a  few  of  the  shifting  attempts  by 
which  men  seek  to  cover  up  the  iniquities  of  which 
they  know  themselves  to  be  guilty,  and  by  which  they 
endeavor  to  shield  themselves  from  the  penalties  due  to 
those  who  are  really  and  undeniably  wicked. 

Some  take  refuge  in  the  thought  (a)  that  they 
were  born  in  sin.  They  cannot  help  their  evil  disposi- 
tions and  sinful  propensities.  The  wrong  they  are 
doing  grows  out  of  their  nature.  They  do  not  con- 
sider themselves  responsible  for  being  what  they  are. 

With  shocking  blasphemy  Burns  could  sing : 

"Thou  knowest  that  Thou  hast   formed  me 
With   passions   wild   and    strong. 
And  listening  to  their  witching  voice 
Has  often   led  me  wrong." 

They  are  sinners,  no  doubt,  but  the  fault  is  God's, 
not  theirs ! 

(b)  Or  they  ascribe  the  blame  of  their  evil-doings 
entirely  to  the  subtle  power  of  temptation,  to  the  wily 
seductions  of  the  devil.  "The  serpent  beguiled  me," 
was  the  excuse  of  the  first  sinner.  And  one  would 
think  to  hear  the  plea  set  up  by  sinners  ever  since  that 
this  excuse  was  accepted  as  altogether  sufficient.  If 
angels  fell  under  the  crafty  assaults  of  Satan,  if  Adam 
and  Eve,  in  their  estate  of  innocence  and  with  their 


THE    ACCEPTED   PUBLICAN.  1 27 

blessed  surroundings,  yielded  to  his  arts,  am  I  to  be 
condemned  for  going  astray? 

(c)  Others,  again,  lay  the  blame  entirely  upon 
their  fellow-men.  "The  woman  that  thou  gavest  to  be 
with  me,  she  gave  me  of  the  tree  and  I  did  eat."  Had 
I  been  left  to  myself,  had  my  own  inclinations  been 
followed,  this  would  not  have  happened.  The  fault  is 
not  mine.  I  don't  admit  any  guilt  in  this  transaction. 
What  parent  or  teacher  has  not  discovered,  in  punish- 
ing a  disobedient  boy,  that  he  is  uniformly  pimishing 
the  wrong  one?  It  was  always  the  other  boy  who 
brought  about  the  evil  act.  Had  it  not  been  for  him, 
the  victim  of  your  rod  would  have  kept  perfectly  clear 
from  the  evil  course  of  which  he  is  accused.  He  is  a 
good  boy,  always  was  and  means  to  be,  but  what  is 
one  to  do  when  these  bad  boys,  with  their  corrupting 
influences,  surround  you? 

If  men  could  only  be  freed  from  their  peculiar 
surroundings,  if  their  bringing  up  had  been  different, 
if  they  were  in  some  other  business,  or  in  a  different 
locality,  they  would  not  violate  the  principles  of  truth 
and  righteousness.  They  would  strictly  conform  their 
conduct  to  the  requirements  of  Christian  character. 

I  have  heard  men,  who  held  high  i  laces  in  a  Chris- 
tian congregation,  justify  their  business  obliquities  by 
the  claim  that  it  was  impossible  these  days  to  carry  on 
business  on  the  basis  of  the  Decalogue.  So  many 
sharpers  and  rascals  were  engaged  in  trade  all  around, 
that,  unless  one  would  resort  to  practices  of  a  some- 
what   dubious    character,    he    must    abandon    business 


128  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

altogether.     These  other  bad  men  make  dishonesty  a 
necessity  to  us  who  are  at  heart  honest  and  truthful ! 

No  doubt,  had  the  publican,  as  he  humbly  made 
his  confession,  been  so  disposed,  a  similar  excuse  would 
readily  have  occurred  to  him,  for  he  had  been  employed 
in  an  infamous  business.  The  disgrace  which  publicly 
attached  to  it.  and  the  strong  temptations  that  beset 
the  revenue  service  among  the  Jews,  must  have  made  it 
extremely  hard  for  a  man  to  keep  his  conscience  unde- 
filed.  Had  the  publican  only  thought  of  all  this  he 
might  have  calmly  raised  his  innocent  eyes  and  saved 
his  innocent  bosom  from  the  self-inflicted  blows  of 
his  inexorable  remorse. 

(d)  Another  expedient,  to  which  the  stings  of 
conscience  often  drive  men,  is  the  claim  that  their  evil- 
doing  is  not  deliberate.  They  cannot  be  charged  with 
intentional  offending.  They  are,  it  is  true,  sometimes 
overtaken  in  a  fault,  but  their  offences  are  involuntary. 
If  men  could  only  see  their  good  intentions,  they  would 
surely  justify  them.  When  Saul  disobeyed  the  Lord 
in  the  case  of  the  Amalekites,  it  was  solely,  he  claimed, 
with  a  view  of  rendering  a  better  service  to  God.  He 
spared  the  best  of  the  sheep  and  oxen  and  of  the  fat- 
lings  that  he  might  oft"er  a  monumental  sacrifice  to 
Jehovah.  His  course  may  not  have  been  just  the 
proper  thing,  but  he  was  actuated  with  the  best  inten- 
tions. 

(e)  When  all  other  excuses  prove  unavailing, 
there  is  generally  still  this  comfort  left  to  a  man — that 
he  is  no  worse  than  many  others.     I  may  be  guilty,  but 


THE   ACCEPTED   PUBLICAN.  129 

look  at  Brown  and  Jones  and  a  host  of  others.  The 
pubHcan  felt,  probably,  a  special  provocation  to  offer 
this  very  plea,  when  he  overheard  tlie  I'harisee  con- 
trasting- himself  with  him.  How  naturally  he  might 
have  retorted,  Sinner  that  I  am,  I  am  no  worse  than  a 
Pharisee !  I  am,  at  all  events,  no  hypocrite.  But  the 
Spirit  working  within  him  would  none  of  this.  He 
was  not  there  to  practice  any  jugglery  of  self-delus- 
ions, or  to  mock  God  with  any  whitewashing  explana- 
tions. He  stood  there  to  confess  his  sins,  not  to  deny 
them.  No  apology  whatever  is  put  forward.  Per- 
fectly ingenuous,  without  one  word  of  extenuation  or 
defence,  his  confession  comes  up  like  water  gushing 
from  an  irrepressible  spring.  Ashamed  to  turn  his 
guilty  eyes  to  the  face  of  Him  against  whom  he  had  so 
grievously  offended,  and  smiting  on  his  tumultuous 
and  heaving  breast,  he  humbly  prays,  God  be  merciful 
to  me  a  sinner. 

Oh !  that  men  might  learn  from  this  model  the 
grace  and  duty  of  confessing.  How  many  deceive 
themselves,  and  the  truth  is,  accordingly,  not  in  them, 
by  affecting  good  intentions,  or  other  palliating  de- 
fences, hoping  thereby  to  cover  up  the  naked  enormity 
of  their  sins,  denying  essentially  that  they  are  sinners, 
quenching  thereby  the  accusations  of  conscience,  and 
forfeiting  that  mercy  which  alone  saves  from  sin 
through  atonement  and  forgiveness.  Oh,  how  vain, 
how  abortive  such  excuses  for  evil  conduct !  And  yet, 
was  there  ever  a  sin  so  flagrant  and  crimson  that  men 
could  not  devise  some  defense  or  justification  for  it? 

9 


130  THE   HIGHER   ROCK. 

III.       IN   HIS  IMMEDIATE  APPLICATION  TO  GOD  I^OR 
MERCY. 

He  does  not  have  recourse  first  to  a  priest,  al- 
though the  priests  were  at  that  time  still  performing 
their  functions  at  the  temple.  Nor  does  he  go  to  a 
prophet,  a  religious  teacher,  or  a  pastor,  and  ask  one  of 
these  for  assistance  in  effecting  his  reconciliation  with 
God,  but  he  proceeds  at  once  and  directly  to  God,  and 
without  any  intervention  or  help  from  others  he  cries 
for  mercy.  This  course  is  not  natural  with  the  peni- 
tent. Sin  has  so  dazed  the  mind  that  men  not  only 
deceive  themselves  as  to  their  condition  and  shrink  from 
confessing  it  when  it  has  been  discovered  to  them, 
but  even,  when  they  are  brought  to  a  confession,  they 
are  so  bewildered  that  they  will  apply  for  relief  every- 
where else  rather  than  with  the  sole  fountain  of  mercy. 
They  feel  constrained  to  have  the  services  of  others  in 
order  to  get  their  case  before  God.  In  place  of  ap- 
proaching the  mercy  seat  themselves,  some  one  else 
is  expected  in  the  first  instance  to  act  for  them  with 
God.  He  is  the  Holy  One.  How  can  I,  who  am  so 
unclean,  enter  into  His  presence?  He  is  the  righteous, 
dreadful  Judge,  and  I  am  the  offender.  Yea,  it  is 
against  the  Judge  that  my  offences  have  been  commit- 
ted. He  is  the  Mighty  One,  I  but  a  worm.  To  go 
alone,  and  without  some  one  to  interpose  and  inter- 
cede in  my  behalf,  is  to  be  crushed  under  His  foot. 

It  seems  to  be  our  very  nature,  since  our  alienation 
from  God.  to  hide  ourselves  from  Him,  like  Adam  in 
the  terror  t'.iat  succeeded  the  Fall,  as  though  our  sins 
had  made  His  presence  intolerable.     When  the  burden 


THE    ACCEPTED    PUBLICAN.  131 

of  guilt  becomes  unbearable,  and  man  is  driven  by  the 
anguish  of  conscience  to  seek  mercy,  he  flies  to  the 
priest,  in  heathenism ;  to  the  Confessional,  the  \'irgin, 
the  Saints,  if  he  has  had  his  training  in  Romanism. 
Even  something  additional  to  personal  assistance  must 
be  interposed  between  the  contrite  sinner  and  the  awful 
God  for  whose  favor  he  is  striving.  This  is  the  im- 
port of  the  sacrificial  altars,  which  in  all  ages  have 
sent  the  smoke  of  their  sin-offerings  to  heaven.  Hence 
the  pilgrimages,  the  crusades,  the  monastic  extrava- 
gances of  the  Middle  Ages.  Hence  the  horrid  self- 
mortifications  of  men  struggling  to  obtain  salvation. 
Oh  what  interesting  and  tragic  scenes  come  into  view 
as  we  recall  those  dark  ages,  when  penitents  hoped, 
by  pains  and  tears  and  blood,  by  hunger  and  cold  and 
torture,  to  accomi)lish  something  that  would  be  so  mer- 
itorious with  God  as  to  move  Him  to  mercy ! 

Immediate  approach  to  Him?  Why,  such  effront- 
ery would  be  smitten  in  the  very  act  with  the  divine 
curse. 

The  paramount  work  of  the  Reformation  was  to 
bring  sinners  again  into  immediate  access  to  God,  to 
teach  them  that  just  as  they  are  they  can  approach 
Him  without  one  plea,  without  either  saint  or  priest 
as  a  go-between,  without  merit,  or  work,  or  anything 
that  could  possibly  present  as  an  intervening  object 
between  us  and  God.  His  love  in  Christ  Jesus,  who 
came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners,  has  brought  Him 
so  near  to  every  sinner,  that  whosoever  will  may  come 
to  the  fountain  and  drink  of  the  water  of  life  freely. 

And   yet   men   are   evermore   inclined    to   imagine 


132  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

that  the  moral  distance  between  them  and  God  must 
be  struggled  over  somehow  by  themselves,  that  there 
is  something  which  others  can  effect  for  them,  so  as 
to  make  their  search  for  grace  effectual,  or  something 
vi^hich  they  can  themselves  render,  be  it  bitter  sorrow 
or  tears,  or  some  act  or  work  that  will  please  God,  and 
thus  procure  mercy.  They  want  to  take  their  place 
in  a  certain  locality,  kneel  at  a  particular  bench, 
rise  in  meeting  to  ask  for  prayers,  enter  the  in- 
quiry-room, or,  at  all  events,  see  the  minister  and 
submit  to  instruction.  Thousands  resort  to  a  course 
like  this,  because  of  their  faith  in  these  agencies  to 
help  them  to  God.  Something  must  needs  be  done,  they 
reason ;  and  as  a  step  like  this  is  commonly  taken,  I 
will  try  it,  hoping  that  it  will  avail  me.  Each  of  these 
acts  may  serve  a  good  purpose  to  those  who  use  them 
intelligently,  who  recognize  in  themselves  some  embar- 
rassment or  difficulty  which  they  wish  to  have  re- 
moved. A  man  under  conviction  is  liable  to  be  very 
much  bewildered,  to  get  into  his  head  very  foolish  and 
erroneous  notions,  which  an  enlightened  minister  will 
correct,  or  from  instructions  in  the  inquiry-room  he 
may  derive  great  encouragement ;  but  all  these  avail 
nothing  to  procure  our  pardon.  There  is  nothing  in 
these  to  render  us  in  any  way  acceptable.  As  long  as 
the  soul  does  not  go  directly  to  God,  and,  without  any 
plea  whatever,  supplicate  infinite  mercy  through  the 
blood  of  Christ,  the  expedients  of  anxious-bench,  in- 
quiry-room, pastoral  conference,  will  not  effect  one 
iota  of  relief.  On  the  other  hand,  whenever  the  sinner 
follows  the  publican,  taking  his  suit  directly  to  God, 


THE    ACCEPTED    PUBLICAN.  1 33 

looking  immediately  to  Him  and  to  Him  alone  for  sal- 
vation, all  such  supposed  aids  become  utterly  super- 
fluous. 

Oh,  if  men  would  only  believe  it,  salvation  is  of 
the  Lord.  He  receiveth  sinners,  not  after  they  have 
changed,  but  just  as  they  are.  His  blood  cleanseth 
us  from  sin.  Xot  our  feelings,  our  tears,  our  wrest- 
lings, or  our  "coming  out  on  the  Lord's  side"  in  any 
form  devised  by  man.  We  do  not  read  that  the  Pub- 
lican's prayer  was  accompanied  by  any  of  these  acces- 
sories. He  solely  and  simply  cried,  "God  be  merciful 
to  me  a  sinner."  Till  you  do  this,  my  hearer,  you  are 
not  saved.  When  you  do  it  sincerely  salvation  is 
yours. 

IV.       IN     HIS    IXST.\NTANEOUS    DEUVKRANCE    FROM    SIX. 

How  soon  the  prayer  was  answered!  How 
quickly  the  sinner  saved !  There  is  nothiiig  here  of  a 
long  penitential  conflict,  of  weary  days  and  nights  of 
weeping  and  wailing  for  God.  It  took  but  an  instant 
to  grant  this  humble  sinner  mercy.  Immediately  upon 
his  confession  and  his  prayer  he  was  justified.  "If  we 
confess  our  sins,  God  is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us 
our  sins  and  to  cleanse  us  from  all  unrighteousness." 
Here  we  have  the  living  confirmation  of  this  promise. 
We  read  in  the  Scriptures  of  many  who  were  crushed 
by  their  sins  and  who  sought  for  mercy.  Vet  of  no 
one  is  it  unmistakably  declared  that  God  accepted  him. 
This  man  was  justified,  said  He  who  knows  what  trans- 
pires in  Heaven  and  on  earth,  and  who  is  Himself  the 
One  Savior  of  sinners — justified  the  moment  he  asked 
for  mercy.     It   does   not   take   God   a   long  period   to 


134  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

conclude  upon  the  sinner's  pardon.  He  is  waiting  to 
be  gracious.  He  is  a  very  present  Savior,  and  often 
men  have  felt  that  even  before  they  called  He  an- 
swered. Look  at  the  rapid  transition  from  death  to 
life  in  the  case  of  the  jailer  at  Philippi,  the  thief  on  the 
cross,  and  Saul  of  Tarsus. 

The  publican,  who  went  to  the  temple  to  pray, 
went  down  to  his  house  justified,  saved.  He  had, 
while  praying,  a  new  birth  into  the  divine  kingdom, 
and  was  made  a  child  of  God  through  the  faith  that 
plead  for  mercy.  There  was  no  longer  any  condemna- 
tion resting  upon  him,  the  sword  of  justice  was  with- 
drawn ;  his  sins,  though  they  had  been  as  scarlet,  were 
wdiiter  than  snow.  From  the  moment  he  called  unto 
God  he  was  absolved  from  all  guilt  and  washed  from 
every  stain ;  his  name  was  written  in  the  Lamb's  Book 
of  Life  and  he  was  numbered  with  the  heirs  of  glory 
and  became  a  fellow-citizen  with  the  saints. 

It  is  clear,  from  this  parable,  on  what  score  sin- 
ners can  come  acceptably  before  God.  To  come  as  the 
Pharisee  did  is  to  court  rejection,  for  it  puts  contempt 
upon  the  divine  mercy  and  all  the  gracious  provisions 
devised  from  eternity  for  our  salvation.  On  the  other 
hand,  to  approach  God  as  the  Publican  did,  to  return, 
as  the  Prodigal,  with  the  confession,  "I  have  sinned," 
is  to  fall  into  the  saving  arms  of  Omnipotence, 
stretched  out  from  heaven  for  our  rescue.  God  grant 
unto  you  all  grace  to  ofifer  this  effectual  prayer.  May 
you  be  blessed  with  a  true  knowledge  of  your  sinful 
and  guilty  condition.  Let  your  mind  be  open  to  every 
ray   of  light,   however  painful   and   humbling  its   dis- 


THE    ACCEPTED    PUBLICAN.  1 35 

closures.  May  you  have  grace  to  make  an  open,  hon- 
est and  hearty  confession,  casting  aside  every  subter- 
fuge and  lying  artifice  devised  to  secure  exemption 
from  a  full,  humiliating  acknowledgment  of  your  per- 
sonal guilt.  And  then,  O  fly  with  your  confession  and 
prayer  to  the  footstool  of  Him  who  alone  can  forgive 
sins  upon  earth,  and  your  heart  will  be  made  to  rejoice 
over  the  promptness  and  freeness  and  fullness  of  a 
Heavenly  Father's  pardon. 


VIII.     SAVED  FROM  ETERNITY. 

[From    Homiletic    Review.] 

Who  has  saved  us,  and  called  us  with  a  holy  calling,  not  accord- 
ing to  our  works,  but  according  to  His  own  purpose  and  grace,  which 
was  given  us  in  Christ   Tesus  before  the  world  began. — 2  Tim.  i.  9. 

We  are  told  that  the  Chinese  have  no  conception 
of  disinterestedness.  The  ample  vocabulary  of  the 
classics  has  no  word  for  love.  Heathenism  knows 
nothing  of  a  Savior.  Man-made  religions  never  rise 
to  the  thought  of  redemption.  They  offer  no  sal- 
vation. They  know  nought  of  a  Divine  sympathy  or 
a  gracious  interposition  from  on  high.  They  leave 
man  to  save  himself — if  he  can. 

Here  is  the  broad,  deep,  impassable  chasm  between 
Christianity  and  all  other  religions.  With  all  his  de- 
votion, prayers,  sacrifices,  and  self-immolations,  the 
heathen  is  but  striving  to  save  himself,  to  propitiate 
the  deity,  to  compensate  for  wrongdoing.  The  theme 
of  the  Gospel  is  a  Savior,  salvation  through  another. 
Its  essence  is  the  forgiveness  of  sins.  This  makes  the 
Gospel  the  Gospel ;  and  this  beyond  all  comparison 
distinguishes  it  from  every  other  religious  system. 
Vain  is  the  search  through  all  the  literature  of  the 
world  for  a  parallel  to  the  announcement  that  Jesus 
Christ  came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners. 

Here,  too,  is  the  touchstone  by  which  the  genuine- 
ness and  soundness  of  the  various  types  of  Christian- 
ity may   be  tested.     So   far  as   men   ascribe   salvation 

(136) 


SAVED    FROM    ETERNITY.  1 37 

wholly  to  the  grace  of  God  they  have  the  pure  Gospel ; 
so  far  as  they  admit  any  saving  efficaciousness  in  hu- 
man efTort,  works,  or  merits,  they  corrupt  the  true 
faith,  they  approximate  heathenism.  When  a  system, 
while  not  denying  grace,  adds  works  in  order  to  secure 
salvation,  or  allows  anything  meritorious  in  human 
striving  after  forgiveness,  it  makes  man,  at  least  in 
part,  his  own  savior.  Salvation  is  the  work  of  God 
alone,  though,  of  course,  it  is  wrought  in  and  through 
man  and  not  outside  of  his  own  mind ;  and  in  order 
to  cut  off  by  the  roots  all  claims  upon  man's  part,  God's 
act  of  salvation  is  placed  back  in  eternity.  It  was 
accomplished  before  any  works  or  endeavors  of  man 
were  possible.  Our  salvation  was  a  fact  in  the  bosom 
of  God  before  we  were  born,  it  was  "'given  us  in  Christ 
Jesus  before  the  world  began." 

In  the  text  he  teaches  us  three  precious  and  most 
consoling  truths : 

I.     The  provision  of  salvation  in  eternity. 
II.     Its  manifestation  in  Christ. 

III.     Its  offer  in  the  Gospel  call. 

I.  In  the  experience  of  salvation  we  are  prone 
to  think  of  God  as  the  counterpart  of  man.  Man  has 
sinned,  God  is  offended.  Man's  sin  and  God's  wrath 
are  correlative ;  and  as  man  is  born  a  sinner,  the  fire 
of  God's  wrath  is  viewed  as  burning  against  him  from 
the  moment  of  his  birth.  While  unrenewed  he  hates 
God,  and  God  hates  him;  and  now  if  man  will  turn, 
will  repent,  will  be  converted,  then  God  will  be  recon- 
ciled and  forgive  him.     So  far  as  the  mission  of  Christ 


138  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

enters  into  the  matter  that  was  designed  to  save  us 
from  the  wrath  of  God,  to  move  an  angry  Father  to 
love  and  pity.  This  is  a  common,  a  superficial,  and  a 
very  unscriptural  way  of  looking  at  the  subject,  and 
it  contradicts  Paul  outright.  Before  the  Son  became 
flesh,  before  the  tragedy  on  Golgotha,  before  one  drop 
of  expiatory  blood  was  shed,  or  one  word  of  media- 
torial intercession  went  up  in  the  sinner's  behalf — 
away  back  in  the  counsels  of  eternity,  before  ever  the 
foundations  of  the  earth  were  laid,  before  a  single 
star  was  planted  in  the  firmament,  the  decree  of  for- 
giveness was  emblazoned  on  the  canopy  of  the  eternal 
throne.  Your  name  was  engraved  on  the  palms  of 
God's  hands,  the  image  of  your  soul  was  embalmed 
in  His  heart,  your  salvation  was  guaranteed  in  Christ 
Jesus  before  the  morning  of  creation  dawned.  And 
in  the  lapse  of  eternal  ages,  and  with  the  prospect  of 
your  sinful  and  wayward  life  before  Him,  God  has 
never  looked  upon  you  otherwise  than  as  His  beloved 
child,  and  the  first  kiss  imprinted  on  your  infant  lips 
was  the  kiss  of  your  heavenly  Father;  and  however 
disobedient,  wicked,  and  godless  your  life  may  since 
have  been,  it  has  not  in  the  least  changed  God's  tender- 
ness, love  and  pity  for  you. 

"No  earthly   father  loves  like  Thee, 
No    mother    half    so    mild 
Bears  and   forbears  as   Thou   hast   done 
To  me  Thy  sinful   child." 

"God  is  love"  was  not  changed  by  sin  into  "God 
is  wrath."  His  love  falls  upon  a  world  wallowing  in 
sin.     His  loving-kindness  changes  not. 


SAVED    FROM    ETERNITY.  1 39 

But  have  we  not  fallen  under  ci  )ndemnation  ?  Is 
not  justice  inexorable?  Can  a  righteous  God  pass  by 
the  awful  guilt  of  violating  His  laws? 

To  measure  this  guilt  as  heaven  sees  it,  to  show 
God's  abhorrence  of  our  sins,  to  paint  them  in  their 
true  blackness,  or  to  portray  the  condemnation  they 
provoke,  is  beyond  the  power  of  human  tongue.  This 
is  awfully  true.  And  what  can  you  do  regarding  it? 
Your  sins  have  created  a  chasm  between  you  and  God 
so  deep  that  no  plummet  can  sound  it,  so  wide  that  no 
measuring  line  can  reach  across  the  abyss :  in  what 
way  do  you  mean  to  pass  over  it?  Your  sins  have 
formed  mountains  which  rise  to  heaven :  is  it  in  your 
power  to  scale  them?  What  will  you  do  to  be  saved? 
What  expiation  can  you  offer?  What  ransom  or  in- 
demnity can  you  pay?  The  chasm  must  be  bridged, 
the  mountain  scaled,  the  ransom  paid,  all  the  results 
of  your  sin  must  be  done  away,  but  by  another  arm 
than  your  own.  Man  can  no  more  redeem  himself 
than  he  can  be  his  own  creator. 

God's  wrath  is  no  dream.  Mark  that.  But,  on 
the  other  hand,  it  does  not  override  His  love,  it  does 
not  quench  paternal  pity,  nor  still  the  throbbings  of 
infinite  tenderness.  Love  remains  ever  uppermost,  the 
crowning  attribute  of  God,  swaying  every  other  attri- 
bute. Within  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant  were  the  tables 
of  the  law  condemning  every  one  who  continueth  not 
in  all  things  written  there ;  but  above  the  Ark  and  cov- 
ering it  was  the  mercy-seat  on  which  the  atoning  blood 
was  sprinkled,  and  going  forth  from  its  presence  the 
high    priest    could    assure    the    people   of    forgiveness. 


140  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

That  Ark  is  the  blessed  symbol  of  God's  heart,  within 
which  dwells  eternal  and  inexorable  justice,  but  over 
this  attribute  flaming  with  wrath  is  the  mercy-seat  of 
redeeming  love  bathed  with  the  blood  of  the  Lamb 
that  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world. 

11.  To  what  purpose,  then,  the  coming  of  Christ? 
Why  did  God  become  man?  Why  the  awful  sacrifice 
on  the  cross?  Why  the  descent  of  the  God-head  into 
our  earth,  into  hell,  and  back  again  to  heaven?  Vol- 
umes upon  volumes  have  been  written  on  this  mystery. 
The  profoundest  minds  have  struggled  with  this  tran- 
scendent and  adorable  theme,  and  glorious  truths  have 
been  evolved,  yet  heights  and  depths  of  the  mystery 
remain  unsolved,  and  more  or  less  of  error  has  been 
developed  in  the  endeavor  to  comprehend  the  incom- 
prehensible. 

The  most  pernicious  error  here  is  no  doubt  the  sug- 
gestion that  the  humiliation  of  the  Son  of  God  and 
His  death  were  necessary  to  appease  the  Father's 
wrath,  that  the  blood  of  the  cross  was  required  to 
propitiate  an  angry  God !  This,  clearly  understood, 
is  a  horrible  theory.  Does  your  Bible  read,  God  so 
hated  the  world  ?  Nay !  God  so  loved  the  world 
that  He  had  recourse  to  a  personal  sacrifice  of  unutter- 
able cost  to  Himself.  Love  gave  the  Son,  love  to  sin- 
ners, love  to  an  ungodly  world,  provided  the  remedy 
for  its  guilt  before  God.  It  was  the  love  of  the  Father 
to  us  which  preceded  and  planned  and  consummated 
the  whole  scheme  of  redemption.  His  love  for  us 
was  so  great  that  He  spared  not  His  only  begotten 
Son.     He   who  by   the   offering  up   of   Himself   bore 


SAVED    FROM    ETERNITY.  141 

away  the  sin  of  the  world  was  the  Father's  gift  to 
sinners. 

But  if  such  were  God's  purposes  of  grace  even 
before  anything  was  wrought  by  Christ,  if  infinite 
mercy  from  eternity  swallowed  up  all  sin,  why,  we 
still  ask.  His  assumption  of  human  nature,  why  His 
mediatorial  work  ?  He  came  in  the  first  instance  to  an- 
nounce this  free  salvation.  Like  a  flash  of  lightning 
from  a  dark  sky,  His  coming  is  the  revelation  of  the 
Father's  love.  He  came  to  show  us  the  Father,  to 
convey  to  us  with  pierced  hands  the  Father's  pardon. 
The  grace  which  was  given  us  in  Him  before  the 
world  began  "is  now  made  manifest  by  the  appearing 
of  our  Savior  Jesus  Christ."  He  came  to  give  us  a 
living  incarnate  exhibition  of  our  Father's  love,  to  per- 
suade us  to  be  reconciled  by  the  unmistakable  proof 
and  guarantee  of  forgiveness.  He  came  to  bring  us 
gently  and  surely  back  to  God,  as  the  shepherd  goes 
after  the  sheep  that  is  lost.  He  came  to  put  salvation 
into  our  hearts,  to  place  us  in  full  possession  of  its 
gifts. 

Besides  its  precious  significance  for  us,  the  medi- 
ation of  Christ  has  doubtless  a  momentous  import  in 
respect  to  God.  The  Father's  purpose  required  the 
execution  of  justice ;  in  other  words,  the  bearing  away 
of  the  sins  of  the  world.  The  awful  chasm  had  to  be 
bridged,  and  Christ  laid  Himself  down  as  the  way 
over  which  man  can  return  to  God.  The  mountains 
of  our  sin  had  to  be  crossed,  and  He  crossed  them, 
bearing  us  on  His  shoulders  and  in  His  arms.  He 
paid  the  ransom  with   His  own  life's  blood,  ''bearing 


142  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

our  sins  in  His  own  body  on  the  tree,"  and  removing 
absolutely  every  obstacle  which  stood  in  the  way  of 
our  conversion. 

III.  To  the  salvation  brought  to  us  by  Christ, 
and  given  to  us  in  Him  from  eternity,  we  are  called 
with  "a  holy  calling."  The  Gospel  is  a  call,  a  loud 
and  urgent  call  to  us  to  receive  it,  to  lay  hold  of  it 
coming  to  us  as  a  free  gift.  The  proclamation  which 
it  makes  to  all  men  is  that  the\-  believe  it,  place  their 
confidence  in  it,  by  a  supreme  decision  avail  them- 
selves of  the  priceless  gift. 

Salvation  must  take  effect  within  us.  While  we 
contribute  nothing  to  God's  grace,  we  offer  the  seat 
for  its  realization  in  our  bosom.  Forgiveness  must 
be  consummated  in  our  personality — subjectively,  Man 
is  endowed  with  a  rational  and  moral  nature  which 
must  be  called  into  exercise  in  the  application  of  re- 
demption, just  as  our  physical  nature  must  respond 
to  remedies  applied  by  a  physician.  Forgiveness  avails 
nothing  unless  it  becomes  a  fact  to  our  consciousness, 
unless  its  real  import  becomes  the  conviction  and  the 
life  of  the  soul.  As  it  requires  two  for  an  offence,  so 
forgiveness  requires  the  concurrent  action  of  two — 
the  one  to  ofifer  forgiveness,  the  other  to  receive  it. 
God  forgave  me  all  my  sins  before  He  laid  the  founda- 
tions of  the  world,  but  until  I  avail  myself  of  that  for- 
giveness, until  it  is  fixed  in  my  being,  it  profits  me 
no  more  than  a  legacy  left  to  an  ungrateful  son,  who 
declines  to  have  it. 

Here  salvation  assumes  a  personal  and  an  ex- 
tremely    practical     interest.     Here     is     disclosed     the 


SAVED    FROM    ETERNITY.  1 43 

momentous  responsibility  of  all  who  hear  the  Gospel. 
The  preacher's  office  is  to  proclaim  forgiveness,  to 
beseech  men  in  Christ's  stead  to  be  reconciled  to  God. 
This  is  their  invitation,  the  call  to  repentance,  "an  holy 
calling"  which  assures  men  that  in  God's  heart  all  their 
sins  are  forgiven,  that  grace  is  not  to  be  sought  or 
merited,  or  striven  for  as  something  hard  to  obtain, 
or  hoped  for  as  some  future  boon,  but  that  all  things 
are  ready,  and  that  salvation  has  actually  come  to  men. 
We  sometimes  speak  of  it  as  yet  future,  as  though 
it  would  be  the  outcome  of  certain  conditions,  doings 
or  experiences  of  our  own,  as  though  forgiveness  were 
really  the  final  result  of  a  scries  of  reformations  and 
endeavors,  when,  in  fact,  it  is  the  beginning  and  pre- 
requisite of  all  genuine  moral  improvement.  How 
we  misread  the  plainest  lessons  taught  by  the  Master, 
and  especially  those  lessons  which  reveal  the  Father's 
heart !  Study  over  again  the  parable  of  the  prodigal, 
with  its  two-fold  and  necessary  introduction  of  the 
seeking  for  the  lost  sheep  and  the  lost  coin.  Doubtless 
some  of  the  servants  would  have  represented  to  him 
that  he  had  an  indulgent  father,  dwelling  in  a  sumptu- 
ous palace,  and  that  he  might  reckon  on  a  welcome,  if 
he  should  beforehand  wash  himself,  procure  a  suit  of 
becoming  clothes  and  shoes,  and  especially  if  he  could 
manage  to  get  back  the  pawned  signet  ring,  the  pledge 
of  his  former  sonship.  and  show  consideration  for  the 
elder  brother.  The  father,  they  would  urge,  would 
take  pity  on  him,  if  he  presented  himself  in  a  suital)le 
fashion.  Some  would  encourage  him  in  his  purpose 
to  hire  out  in  the  old  establishment,  thus  enabling  him 


144  I'^E    HIGHER    ROCK, 

to  pay  his  way,  and  to  make  some  amends  and  possible 
restitution  for  the  immeasureable  wrongs  and  griefs 
he  had  caused  his  father. 

Paul  would  exclaim,  "If  I  or  an  angel  from  heaven 
preach  such  gospel  let  him  be  anathema."  Tell  me,  was 
the  pardon  of  the  prodigal  resolved  on  only  after  his 
return  and  after  his  promise  of  reform?  He  was  not 
out  of  sight  at  his  departure  from  home,  when  the 
father's  heart  yearned  after  him  and  inwardly  assured 
him  'twill  all  be  forgiven,  'tis  all  forgiven  now  if  you 
will  only  return  to  my  arms.  That  very  night  t!ie 
door  was  left  unlocked,  and  the  lamps  kept  burning 
in  the  windows,  in  the  hope  that  the  darkness  would 
lead  him  to  retrace  his  steps. 

The  returning  prodigal  must  indeed  have  proper 
vesture,  and  shoes,  and  the  ring  containing  the  father's 
seal,  but  all  have  been  provided  in  advance  by  the 
father  himself,  and  w^hen  he  was  yet  a  great  way  off,  his 
rags  and  filth  still  on  his  body,  his  father  saw  him,  and 
had  compassion,  and  ran,  and  fell  on  his  neck  and 
kissed  him. 

A  Father's  love  has  left  nothing  undone  respect- 
ing the  sinner's  return  to  His  bosom.  Positively  not 
one  element  is  wanting,  not  one  thing  to  be  supplied 
by  the  helpless  penitent.  All  things  are  ready,  the 
feast  is  waiting,  your  seat  is  there,  the  servants  are 
calling  you  to  come  just  as  you  are.  Is  it  possible 
that  any  can  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  so  gracious  an  invita- 
tion ?  Are  men  so  hardened  against  their  heavenly 
Father  that  they  can  spurn  the  mercy  offered  unco;  - 
ditionallv  to  the  chief  of  sinners? 


IX.     THE  NATURE  AND  POWER  OF  FAITH. 

[From    Living    Words.] 

Now  faith  is  the  substance  of  things  hoped  for,  the  evidence  of 
things  not  seen.  For  by  it  the  elders  obtained  a  good  report. — Heb. 
xi.    1-2. 

This  is  not  a  specific  definition  of  saving  faith, 
but  a  compreliensive  analysis  of  the  essential  nature 
of  faith  in  general.  It  embraces  what  is  hcped  for, 
that  is,  what  is  future,  and  what  is  invisible.  It  is 
the  substance,  the  firm  persuasion,  the  certitude,  of 
that  which  we  look  for  hereafter ;  it  is  the  same  as 
evidence  of  that  which  the  natural  eye  cannot  perceive. 
It  seizes  both  the  future  world  and  the  unseen  world. 

The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  was  addressed  tj  the 
Jewish  Christians  at  a  time  when  they  were  wavering 
in  their  adherence  to  Christianity.  They  had  suflFered 
frig-htful  persecutions  and  experienced  sad  disappoint- 
ments respecting  the  blessings  they  had  expected  to 
enjoy  in  the  gospel.  Whatever  of  inward  good  it 
brought  them  their  outward  lot  was  rendered  so  hard 
and  cheerless  that  they  were  tempted  to  return  to  Juda- 
ism. They  had,  at  all  events,  felt  the  loss  of  those 
outward  and  splendid  ceremonies  in  which  consisted 
the  main  features  of  the  old  system,  and  which  th.y 
had  exchanged  for  a  system  which  had  no  temple,  no 
Holy  of  Holies,  no  altar,  no  sacrifices,  no  priesthood — 
a  system  whose  chief  contents  were  invisible,  whose 
highest  blessings  were  merely  hoped  for. 

lo  (145) 


146  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

It  was  in  order  to  keep  them  from  apostasy,  from 
the  abandonment  of  a  rehgion  whose  chief  contents 
could  be  summed  up  in  faith  and  hope,  that  the  Apos- 
tle plead  with  them  in  this  glorious  letter.  He  begs 
them  to  hold  fast  the  profession  of  their  faith  and  not 
to  cast  away  their  confidence.  Christianity  is,  indeed, 
a  matter  of  faith,  not  of  sight,  yet  is  it  immeasurably 
superior  to  that  dispensation  which  was  made  up  of 
institutions  to  impress  the  eye,  of  spectacles  to  engage 
the  senses.  Faith  is  a  principle  of  the  highest  impor- 
tance, man's  noblest  faculty.  At  the  close  of  the  tenth 
chapter  these  wavering  souls  are  reminded  from  their 
ancient  Scriptures  that  "the  just  lives  by  his  faith," 
but  that  if  any  man  draw  back,  God  will  have  no  pleas- 
ure in  him.  We  are  not,  it  is  added,  of  them  who 
draw  back  unto  perdition,  but  of  them  that  believe 
to  the  saving  of  the  soul.  Faith  is  the  saving  of  the 
soul ;  it  is  the  synonym  of  salvation.  Then  the  argu- 
ment proceeds  with  the  statement  of  our  text,  that  in 
faith  we  have  already  possession  of  treasures  and 
glories  which  belong  to  the  realm  of  the  future :  by 
faith  they  are  substantially  ours  now.  And  so  faith 
penetrates  also  the  curtain  which  hides  the  invisible 
world  and  persuades  us  of  unseen  realities.  It  serves 
as  sure  and  reliable  evidence ;  it  furnishes  us  with  ade- 
quate testimony  in  regard  to  the  unseen  world.  Faith 
is  a  persuasive  and  convincing  power  which  unites 
man  with  the  unseen  world  and  transfers  him  to  the 
future,  so  that  while  he  moves  among  the  things  of 
sense,  he  at  the  same  time  is  a  citizen  of  a  higher  king- 


THE    NATURE    AND    POWER    OF    FAITH.         1 47 

dom,  which  is  hidden  from  the  view  of  other  men  and 
which  is  regarded  as  confined  to  a  future  state. 

The  incomparable  importance,  now,  of  that  power 
which  is  occupied  with  the  unseen  and  the  future, 
appears  wlien  we  consider  some  of  these  unseen  and 
future  things. 

Among  the  former  we  mention  God.  the  creator 
and  governor  of  all  things,  who  holds  us  in  the  hollow 
of  His  hand,  who  is  always  and  everywhere  around 
us,  and  before  whom  all  things  are  naked  and  open. 
No  man  hath  seen  God  at  any  time.  His  providence 
which  guards  our  every  path  and  supplies  our  daily 
bread  is  invisible,  and  without  faith  men  have  no  con- 
ception of  it.  His  justice  is  shrouded  from  our  view 
by  clouds  and  darkness.  The  wicked  seem  to  flourish : 
the  good  are  the  afflicted.  The  judgments  of  God  are 
a  great  deep. 

The  Lord  Jesus  is  an  unseen  Savior.  Bearing 
our  sins  and  sorrows,  cleansing  us  with  His  life's  blood, 
interceding  for  us  at  God's  right  hand,  ever  present 
where  two  or  three  are  assembled  in  His  name,  we  can- 
not share  with  Thomas  the  sight  of  His  radiant  feat- 
ures, the  touch  of  His  wounded  hands  and  side. 

The  Holy  Spirit  who  enlightens,  quickens,  regen- 
erates, and  sanctifies,  dwelling  within  us  a  heavenly 
messenger  and  guest,  an  abiding  guide  and  comforter, 
is  invisible  to  mortal  eyes. 

And  so  is  every  good  of  which  the  Christian 
boasts.  His  justification  is  an  invisible  act  of  God  on 
the  eternal  throne.  No  man  has  ever  s.en  his  pardon, 
nor  read  his  name  in  the  Lamb's  Book  'if  life,  nor 


148  THE   HIGHER    ROCK. 

has  he  perceived  that  robe  of  spotless  rio^hteousness 
which  infinite  mercy  has  thrown  over  his  nakedness. 

And  so  the  most  exalted  and  the  most  blessed 
things  to  which  believing  hearts  aspire  lie  in  the  future. 
Thev  are  not  a  present  possession,  but  a  bliss  hoped 
for.  To  a  man  without  faith  eternal  life  is  a  pleasing 
dream,  but  nothing  more.  The  resurrection,  the  re- 
habilitation of  our  decayed  bodies,  the  transfiguration 
of  our  corporeal  organism,  is  not  even  a  dream  to 
him,  but  to  faith  it  is  a  future  certainty.  The  man- 
sions of  glory  are  in  the  hereafter.  The  perfection  of 
our  powers,  the  recompense  of  devotion  and  self-de- 
nying service  for  others,  the  plaudits  of  heaven,  the 
crown  of  righteousness,  all  are  future  not  present  joys 
and  honors.  They  are  imperceptible  to  our  vision, 
undiscernible  by  the  senses,  unintelligible  to  the  natural 
man,  inaccessible  in  the  present  life. 

But  by  faith  we  know  them,  we  secure  them,  we 
have  them.  It  gives  us  the  assurance  that  they  are, 
and  the  conviction  that  they  are  ours.  God  is  unseen, 
but  faith  exults:  "Whither  shall  I  go  from  Thy  Spirit? 
Or  whither  shall  I  flee  from  Thy  presence?  If  I  ascend 
into  heaven  Thou  art  there ;  if  I  make  my  bed  in  hell, 
behold  Thou  art  there.  If  I  take  the  wings  of  the 
morning  and  dwell  in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  sea, 
even  there  shall  Thy  hand  lead  me  and  Thy  right  hand 
shall  hold  me."  And  of  God's  providence  it  says, 
"The  Lord  will  provide."  Of  His  justice.  "Shall  not 
the  Judge  of  all  the  earth  do  right?"  Of  Christ  it 
says.  "I  know  that  my  Redeemer  lives."  Of  the 
future   it  declares,   "We  know   that   when  the  earthly 


THE    NATURE   AND    POWER   OF    FAITH.         1 49 

house  of  this  tabernacle  is  dissolved,  we  have  a  build- 
ing of  God.  a  house  not  made  by  hands,  eternal  in  the 
heavens."  "We  know  that  there  is  laid  up  for  us  a 
crown  of  righteousness  which  the  Lord,  the  right- 
eous judge,  shall  give  to  all  who  love  His  appearing." 

These  things  are  matters  of  knowledge,  of  assur- 
ance, of  absolute  conviction ;  no  dreams  or  fancies  of 
the  imagination,  but  realities  and  verities,  the  sub- 
stance of  things  hoped  for,  the  unimpeachable  evi- 
dence of  things  not  seen.  There  is  nothing  so  real,  so 
enduring  as  these  invisible  and  future  things,  nothing" 
that  has  for  man  half  their  significance  and  importance. 
"For  the  things  which  are  seen  are  temporal,  but  the 
things  which  are  not  seen  are  eternal." 

Men  will  object,  however,  that  we  have  to  live 
in  the  present  world,  we  are  occupied  with  the  things 
which  are  seen,  and  it  is  these  that  require  our  imme- 
diate attention.  It  is  for  us  primarily  to  live  right  in 
this  world,  to  make  ourselves  good  citizens  and  good 
neighbors  so  as  to  meet  our  responsibilities  and  assure 
right  achievement  in  our  present  lot.  What  is  needed 
is  something  that  acts  upon  the  conscience  and  the 
will,  that  will  promote  private  and  public  virtue,  that 
will  elevate  social  standards,  purify  homes,  and  diffuse 
sweetness  and  light. 

This  is  the  very  thing  that  faith  is  calculated  and 
able  to  accomplish,  as  we  see  from  the  second  verse 
of  the  text.  The  two  words  are  intimately  related, 
and  a  proper  interest  in  the  one  does  not  conflict  with 
our  proper  duties  to  the  other.  Faith  is  an  active  prin- 
ciple,  dynamic,   powerful.     \\'hile   it  guides   a   soul   to 


150  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

the  better  world,  it  exerts  the  mightiest  and  the  hap- 
piest influence  on  a  man  in  his  engagements  to  the 
present  world. 

By  faith  the  elders  obtained  their  good  report, 
the  patriarchs  and  the  prophets,  whose  heroic  deeds 
and  illustrious  victories  make  up  this  eleventh  chap- 
ter. They  achieved  their  fame  through  this  principle 
within  them.  They  believed  in  God,  they  had  an  im- 
movable conviction  of  spiritual  things,  they  looked  for 
a  city  yet  to  come,  a  city  which  has  foundations  that 
are  out  of  sight ;  and  such  was  the  overmastering  and 
guiding  power  of  this  faith  that  they  were  able  in  a 
corrupt  world  to  lead  righteous  lives,  to  provide  against 
terrible  catastrophies,  to  found  a  mighty  nation,  to 
renounce  thrones,  to  subdue  kingdoms,  to  turn  to  flight 
vast  armies,  to  be  strong  amid  weakness,  to  endure 
mockings  and  scourgings  and  bonds  and  imprison- 
ment in  their  sublime  unswerving  resolution  to  follow 
the  dictates  of  conscience  and  to  uphold  the  pillars  of 
truth  and  virtue. 

Thus  faith  in  the  unseen  and  the  future  becomes 
the  bulwark  for  right  living  in  the  present.  Our  con- 
fidence in  the  invisible,  our  hope  of  the  future,  becomes 
the  most  powerful  motive  for  action  amid  things  seen 
and  temporal.  The  consciousness  of  being  a  subject 
of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  makes  a  man  the  best  citi- 
zen of  his  country  here.  Men  of  the  strongest  faith 
are  men  of  the  purest  lives.  Those  most  occupied 
with  future  concerns  afford  the  most  splendid  » xam- 
ples  of  moral  firmness  and  lofty  character  in  their  pres- 
■ent  environment. 


THE    NATURE    AND    POWER    OF    FAITH.         I5I 

Here  is  where  statesmen  as  well  as  theologians 
find  the  golden  key  to  life's  problems.  If  the  masses 
are  to  be  controlled,  if  they  are  to  be  elevated  and 
transformed  into  useful  citizens,  they  must  be  inspired 
with  faith  in  a  world  above,  with  hope  in  the  rewards 
to  come.  The  mainspring  of  a  nation's  happiness  is 
its  faith  in  an  invisible  Ruler,  and  its  hope  of  eternal 
life. 


X.    THE  GREAT  MYSTERY. 

[From   Pulpit  Treasury.] 

And,  without  controversy,  great  is  the  mystery  of  godliness.  God 
manifest  in  the  flesh,  justified  in  the  Spirit,  seen  of  angels,  preached 
unto  the  Gentiles,  believed  on  in  the  world,  received  up  into  glory. — 
I.   Timothy  iii.   6. 

This  is  nnquestionably  one  of  the  richest  passages 
of  the  Gospel.  To  Hmit  one's  self  in  any  phase  of  its 
discussion  to  the  space  allowed  here  requires  the  exer- 
cise of  severe  self-restraint.  The  present  paper  will 
be  confined  to  a  few  critical  and  expository  remarks. 
Many  eminent  commentators  agree  in  the  judgment 
that  this  ringing  and  majestic  sentence  is  a  quotation. 
Its  abrupt  introduction,  its  short,  unconnected,  co-ordi- 
nate phrases,  with  their  antithetical  parallelisms,  each 
clause  in  the  original  composed  of  almost  the  same 
number  of  syllables  and  the  whole  marked  by  rhythm- 
ical succession,  are  considerations  pointing  to  the  frag- 
ment of  an  ancient  hymn  or  creed  of  the  Church. 
This  view  is  sustained  by  the  most  suitable  transla- 
tion of  the  first  word,  "homologoumetios."  "Confess- 
edly," according  to  the  universal  "confession"  of  the 
Church,  or,  as  "generally  acknowledged"  in  the  chants 
of  her  devotion,  this  is  a  great  mystery.  This  view 
offers  also  the  best  way  out  of  the  well-known  textual 
difficulty,  for  the  most  approved  manuscripts  do  not 
contain  the  word  translated  "God"  in  the  standard 
English  and  German  versions,  but  the  masculine  pro- 

(152) 


THE   GREAT    MYSTERY.  1 53 

noun  which  the  revisers  adopted.  The  omission  of 
a  more  definite  word  is  thus  accounted  for.  "He" 
begins  the  quotation  and  as  the  proper  sense  was  un- 
mistakable in  the  original  connection,  the  Apostle  saw 
no  need  of  exchanging  the  pronoun  for  the  designa- 
tion "God''  or  "Christ,"  as  the  incarnation  of  Christ  is 
obviously  the  subject. 

This  is  the  burden  of  the  Church's  song,  the  core 
of  every  creed,  the  unfathomable  mystery  which  god- 
liness contemplates  and  which  is  the  object  of  its  faith 
and  the  spring  of  its  life,  the  flaming  centre  of  all 
heights  and  all  depths,  the  meeting  point  of  God  and 
man,  of  Heaven  and  earth.  The  most  marked  feature 
of  the  mystery  as  set  forth  in  this  sentence  is  its  mar- 
vellous union  of  striking  contrasts,  its  blending  such 
opposites  as  flesh  and  spirit,  angels  and  men,  the  world 
and  glory. 

I.  "God  manifest  in  the  flesh."  Having  existed 
before  in  an  invisible  state,  having  been  in  the  begin- 
ning with  God,  in  essential  union  with  Him,  "He" 
came  upon  the  earth  in  the  likeness  of  man.  The  In- 
finite assumes  a  finite  form,  the  Creator  appears  in  the 
garb  of  a  creature,  the  everlasting  Spirit  becomes  flesh, 
the  fountain  of  life  is  made  obedient  unto  death.  Here 
truly  is  a  phase  of  the  mystery  which  confounds  the 
understanding. 

n.  He  was  justified  in  the  Spirit.  The  usual 
Pauline  import  of  "justify"  is  to  absolve  from  guilt. 
But  like  the  term  flesh  in  the  first  clause,  it  is  not 
employed  here  in  the  ordinary  sense.  Tn  that  sense  it 
must  be  meaningless  when  applied  to  Him  who  was 


154  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

without  sin.  It  has  the  same  significance  in  our  pas- 
sage as  in  Matthew  xi.  19,  and  in  Luke  vii.  35.  It 
has  the  idea  of  vindication,  of  being  found,  recognized, 
proved  to  be  that  which  in  essence  one  really  is.  It 
is  the  reverse  of  being  mistaken,  or  misapprehended. 
It  is  equivalent  to  being  set  right.  Placed  over  against 
the  first  clause  and  recognizing  the  principle  of  com- 
parison and  contrast  as  the  key  for  the  interpretation 
of  the  whole  sentence,  the  idea  to  be  conveyed  cannot 
be  misunderstood.  By  the  cover  of  His  humanity  the 
Lord  Jesus  was  likely  to  be  mistaken  for  a  mere  man. 
The  flesh  veiled  His  higher  nature,  obscured  His  divine 
glory.  He  had  no  form  nor  comeliness.  No  halo 
radiating  from  His  face  marked  His  heavenly  descent. 
"We  know  this  man,"  protested  the  Jews.  "Is  He 
not  the  carpenter's  son?  Is  not  His  mother  called 
Mary,  and  His  brethren  James,  Joses,  Simon  and 
Judas?"  To  reconcile  with  His  familiar  features  and 
well-known  earthly  history  the  overwhelming  signifi- 
cance of  His  superabundant  wisdom  and  power  was 
beyond  their  capacity.  But  the  spirit  within  Him,  the 
inward  part  of  His  being  conjoined  with  the  God- 
head, dispelled  the  illusion,  and  corrected  the  estimates 
which  had  been  formed  by  men  who  had  walked  the 
fields  with  Him  or  joined  Him  as  He  was  fishing  in 
the  lake.  In  spite  of  the  flesh  which  brought  Him 
externally  to  the  level  and  the  limits  of  men.  His  higher 
nature  was  disclosed  in  the  realm  of  the  spirit,  His 
divine  features  were  reflected  in  the  moral  radiance 
of  His  life,  in  the  supremacy  of  His  spiritual  attributes. 
His    speech    was    beyond    what    man    ever    spake. 


THE   GREAT    MYSTERY.  1 55 

His  works  from  day  to  day  attested  that  He  was  a 
teacher  from  God.  His  love  to  men  manifested  His 
divine  glory.  His  absohite  freedom  from  sin,  while 
showing  the  greatest  compassion  to  siimers  and 
through  the  Eternal  Spirit  offering  Himself  wit)  out 
spot  unto  God;  finally,  His  being  quickened  in  the 
Spirit,  all  declare  Him,  notwithstanding  His  flesh,  to 
be  the  Son  of  God  with  ix»wer  according  to  the  Spirit 
of  holiness. 

HI.  "Seen  of  angels."  What  element  of  mys- 
tery is  embraced  in  this  fact?  The  angels  did  indeed 
see  Him  at  His  nativity,  during  His  temptation,  in  His 
agony,  and  at  His  triumphant  resurrection ;  but  what 
moves  the  Apostles  to  place  their  sight  of  Him  along- 
side of  the  elements  of  the  great  mystery? 

The  original  verb  imports  not  simply  being  seen, 
but  making  one's  self  seen,  discovering  one's  self,  be- 
coming visible.  Like  "manifested"  above,  it  presup- 
poses action  on  the  part  of  the  person  who  is  seen; 
He  renders  Himself  visible.  The  truth  taught  is,  then, 
not  that  angels  appeared  to  Christ,  but  that  He  pre- 
sented Himself  to  them.  The  reference  must  be  to  an 
occurrence  outside  the  domain  of  what  is  written, 
something  transpiring  in  the  spirit  world.  And  some 
have  inferred  from  this  temporary  departure  during 
His  sojourn  on  earth,  a  heavenly  counterpart  of  the 
transfiguration.  Some  identify  it  with  His  appearance 
among  the  fallen  angels,  the  descent  into  Hades.  Others 
apply  it  to  the  ascension,  but  that  is  the  subject  of  the 
last  clause.  The  corresponding  clause,  just  as  is  the 
case  with  the  first  and  second  members,  and  w-ith  the 


156  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

fifth  and  sixth,  offers  doubtless  the  true  sokition.  A 
parallel  is  run  between  angels  and  men,  the  inhabitants 
of  Heaven  and  those  of  earth.  Manifested  in  the  flesh 
the  Son  of  God  revealed  Himself  alike  to  angels  and 
to  men.  To  the  latter  He  was  preached,  by  the  for- 
mer He  was  seen.  What  mankind,  fallen  and  afar 
off  from  God,  came  to  know  by  the  preaching  of  the 
Gospel,  the  angel  world,  ever  holy  and  near  the  throne, 
obtained  by  vision,  by  the  angelic  mode  of  apprehen- 
sion, by  intuition.  The  incarnation  is  a  revelation  to 
the  just  spirits  above  as  well  as  to  sinners  in  this  world. 

The  Godhead  is  invisible.  No  one  hath  seen  God 
at  any  time.  This  is  as  true  of  angels  as  of  men.  No 
creature  was  endowed  with  an  eye  capable  of  gazing 
on  the  open  face  of  the  Uncreated,  who,  unseen,  is 
worshipped  and  adored.  It  was  only  when  the  God- 
head dwelt  bodily  in  the  flesh  that  the  full-orbed  vision 
of  His  holiness,  wisdom  and  mercy  dawned  upon  the 
mind  of  angels.  With  them  as  with  men  the  veiling 
of  God  was  the  unveiling  of  His  perfections  and  glory. 
What  had  been  hidden  for  ages  from  even  these  supe- 
rior intelligences  broke  now  upon  them  with  a  measure 
of  light  and  power  akin  to  that  which  reveals  the  glory 
of  God  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ  through  the  preach- 
ing of  the  Gospel  among  the  nations. 

IV.  "He  was  preached  unto  the  nations."  The 
last  statement  involves  a  great  mystery.  So  does  this 
one.  To  the  nations  estranged  from  God  by  their 
wickedness,  enslaved  and  besotted  by  sin,  Christ  cruci- 
fied was  proclaimed  as  tJieir  Redeemer  and  Savior. 
The  true  disciples  of  the  Lord  are  possessed  of  a  pas- 


THE   GRKAT    MYSTERY.  1 57 

sion  to  proclaim  Him  as  the  sinner's  Friend  and  only 
Hope.  They  go  everywhere  i)reaching  this  word.  How 
the  Gospel  contrasts  in  this  respect  with  air  other  relig- 
ions !  These  consist  of  ceremonies,  altars,  temples,  im- 
ages. Christianity  alone  has  a  pulpit,  and  this  is  its  sole 
requisite.  Paganism  and  in  a  measure  Romanism  are 
maintained  by  an  order  of  priests ;  true  Christianity  by 
a  corps  of  preachers. 

Y.  "Believed  on  in  the  world."  The  preaching 
of  divine  truth  is  not  in  vain.  The  response  to  it  is  the 
marvel  of  history.  Stupendous  mystery  confronts  us 
here  again.  To  hold  up  as  the  Savior  of  the  world 
one  who  lived  in  obscurity  and  poverty,  to  demand 
supreme  faith  in  one  who  was  rejected  by  His  own 
people  and  who  died  in  disgrace,  and  find  all  men  drawn 
to  Him,  and  the  world  believing  in  Him,  this  is  the  most 
extraordinary  phenomenon  in  th.e  annals  of  mankind. 
The  wonder  is  not  lessened  wdien  viewed  from  another 
point.  Christ  is  the  Holy  One  of  God,  the  representa- 
tive and  embodiment  of  perfect  righteousness,  justice 
and  truth.  As  such,  one  might  suppose,  He  would  be 
held  in  abhorrence  by  a  race  of  godless  and  guilty  men. 
Yet  these  wicked  men,  the  very  chief  of  sinners,  have 
come  to  Jesus  and  embraced  Him  as  the  one  altogether 
lovely.  In  multitudes  lying  under  the  spell  of  inborn 
depravity,  the  enemies  of  God  and  the  willing  slaves 
of  Satan,  the  preaching  of  Christ  has  awakened  faith 
and  has  made  of  them  new  creatures. 

VI.  "Received  up  into  glory."  This  describes 
of  course  the  ascension.  As  on  earth,  in  the  ungodly 
world,  a  reception  was  given  Him,  and  He  won  the 


158  THi:   HIGHER   ROCK. 

faith  and  loyalty  of  men,  so  in  Heaven  there  was  a 
lifting  up  of  the  mighty  gates  and  an  opening  of  the 
everlasting  doors  to  admit  the  King  of  Glory,  There 
He  was  received  to  abide  forever,  the  Lamb  standing 
in  the  midst  of  the  Throne,  the  mystery  of  the  earth, 
the  wonder  of  the  skies — there  as  here  the  Name  above 
every  name. 

"To    Him    be    glory    evermore!" 


ADDRESSES  AND  ARTICLES. 


I.     THE  DRAMA  OF  PROVIDENCE  ON  THE 
EVE  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

[From    Lutheran    Quarterly.] 

The  Reformation  achieved  through  Martin  Luther 
is  the  most  momentous  revolution  of  society  since  the 
foundation  of  Christian  history.  The  arm  of  Omnip- 
otence alone  could  render  it  possible.  The  evangel- 
ical character  of  the  work  traces  its  origin  to  the  divine 
mind  while  the  appalling  obstacles  overcome  and  the 
beneficent  and  far-reaching  results  attained  stamp  it 
as  the  product  of  divine  providence.  Not,  however, 
with  magical  suddenness  nor  as  isolated  phenomena 
do  the  works  of  providence  make  their  appearance  on 
the  stage  of  history,  but  they  involve  a  vast  sweep  of 
events  converging  to  the  same  consummation.  God's 
methods  in  the  sphere  of  providence  are  of  a  piece  with 
His  methods  in  the  sphere  of  nature.  The  end  designed 
is  reached  by  the  gradual  action  of  an  evolutionary 
process. 

To  obtain  a  full  and  just  conception  of  the 
Reformation  we  must  survey  successive  events  ant  - 
rior  to  its  appearance,  especially  the  great  movem-  nts 
of  the  period  immediately  preceding.  We  shall  thus 
discover  a  number  of  causes  which  not  only  facilitated 
it,  but  which  rendered  such  a  revolution  inevitable. 
Providence  is  a  mysterious  agent  and  it  bas  at  times 
effected  its  work  of  upheaving,  transforming  and  re- 
II  (i6i) 


l62  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

newing  society,  invisibly  and  inaudibly,  but  the  age 
immediately  anterior  to  the  outbreak  of  the  Reforma- 
tion was  so  marked  with  great  historic  events  and 
these  events  had  such  a  direct  and  powerful  bearina:  on 
the  Reformation,  as  to  indicate  unmistakably  h- 
agency  of  superhuman  wisdom  and  almi  hty  power 
not  only  in  the  ecclesiastical  reform  itself  but  in  the 
extraordinary  phenomena  which  combined  to  usher 
it  into  existence.  Momentous  changes  were  taking 
place  in  the  realm  of  ideas  of  government,  of  inven- 
tions and  discoveries,  at  once  producing  and  signaliz- 
ing a  general  awakening  of  society  in  the  latter  half 
of  the  fifteenth  century.  But  what  especially  com- 
mands our  admiration  and  what  shall  engage  our  atten- 
tion in  this  paper  is,  that  all  these  mighty  events  reveal 
a  teleological  character.  They  are  all  seen  converting 
to  the  satne  consummation.  They  present  an  am-  zing 
concert  of  most  diverse  movements  toward  one  end. 
Whatever  the  forces  set  in  motion,  whatever  their  ac- 
tion and  reaction  upon  one  another,  whatever  catas- 
trophe may  have  befallen  any  part  of  society,  wha'  ver 
discoveries  may  have  been  made  on  sea  or  land,  in  the 
earth  or  in  the  heavens,  whatever  inventions  affecting 
the  art  of  war  or  facilitating  the  spread  of  knowledge, 
all  are  found  to  be  not  only  singularly  coincident  but 
most  strikingly  concurrent  to  a  common  result.  The 
Christian  is  forcibly  reminded  of  the  announcement  of 
the  ascending  Lord :  "All  power  is  given  unto  Me  in 
heaven  and  in  earth."  The  great  historians  have  rec- 
ognized this  extraordinary  concurrence  of  great  events 
in  the  political  and  social   life  of  Europe   during  the 


THE   DRAMA    OF   PROVIDENCE.  1 63 

period  preceding  the  Reformation.  Even  the  famous 
naturahst,  Baron  Von  Humboldt,  pauses  in  his  scien- 
tific studies  to  observe :  "The  fifteenth  century  belongs 
to  those  remarkable  epochs  in  which  all  the  eflforts  of 
the  mind  indicate  one  determined  and  general  charac- 
ter and  one  unchanging  striving  towards  the  same  goal. 
The  unity  of  this  tendency  and  the  results  by  which 
it  was  crowned,  combined  with  the  activity  of  whole 
races,  give  to  this  age  a  character  both  of  grandeur  and 
of  enduring  splendor."  Cosmos,  pp.  601,  602,  675,  676. 
Among  the  principal  occurrences  of  this  mighty 
sweep  of  events  may  be  noted 

I.     THE    FALL   OF  CONSTANTINOPLE- 

It  was  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  May,  1453,  after  a 
siege  of  fifty-three  days,  that  the  splendid  capital  of  the 
East,  which  had  proudly  withstood  the  sieges  and  as- 
saults of  many  centuries,  surrendered  to  the  victo- 
rious Turk.  The  crescent  w^as  raised  upon  the  towers 
of  St.  Sophia  and  the  Mussulman  Empire  was  planted 
upon  the  soil  of  Europe. 

This  catastrophe,  considered  by  itself,  might  not 
be  deemed  extraordinary  or  specially  indicative  of  an 
overruling  Providence,  yet  it  cannot  but  excite  our 
wonder  that  this  strong  metropolis  which  had  defied 
the  power  of  Chosroes  and  the  Caliphs,  should  be  irre- 
trievably conquered  at  this  particular  juncture  by  the 
arms  of  Mahomet  II.  A  general  rally  of  European 
Christendom  could  easily  have  averted  this  calamity. 
Even  a  feeble  survival  of  the  spirit  of  the  crusades 
would  have  concentrated  the  chivalry  of  Europe  for  its 


164  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

triumphant  defense,  but  such  was  the  peculiar  state  of 
affairs  in  the  West,  such  were  the  mutual  quarrels,  sus- 
picions and  jealousies  of  the  great  i)rinces,  such  the 
religious  animosity  between  the  East  and  the  West  that 
as  Gibbon  remarks :  '"Christenlom  beheld  with  indif- 
ference the  fall  of  Constantinople.  The  situation  of 
the  imperial  city  was  strong  against  her  enemies  and 
accessible  to  her  friends;  and  a  rational  and  moderate 
armament  of  the  maritime  states  might  have  saved 
the  relics  of  the  Roman  name,  and  maintained  a  Chris- 
tian fortress  in  the  heart  of  the  Ottoman  Empire." — 
"Decline  and  Fall,"  chap.  Ixviii.  Desperate  as  was  the 
situation  of  the  Greeks,  the  numbers  of  the  Ottomans 
being  fifty,  perhaps  a  hundred  times  superior  to  theirs, 
Mahomet  at  one  time  meditated  a  retreat  and  the  rais- 
ing of  the  siege.  But  the  feeble  remnant  of  the  Roman 
Empire  was  left  a  prey  to  the  conquest  of  the  Moslem 
and  sixty  thousand  of  its  devoted  population,  including 
all  ranks,  were  reduced  to  servitude  and  sold  and  dis- 
persed through  the  Turkish  provinces. 

The  relation  which  this  calamity  was  destined  to 
sustain  to  the  Reformation  half  a  century  later,  will  be 
treated  at  the  proper  place  after  we  shall  have  consid- 
ered some  of  the  other  notable  achievements  of  Prov- 
idence which  combined  to  introduce  that  mighty  epoch. 

II.     THE   REVIVAL  OF   LEARNING. 

The  noblest  minds  of  the  Christian  capital  fell  vic- 
tims to  the  unholy  and  unfeeling  power  of  the  Turk. 
Some  of  the  highest  officials  and  some  of  the  foremost 
scholars  were  chained  to  their  slaves  and  together  with 


THE    DRAMA   OF    PROVIDENCE.  1 65 

these  were  sold  into  servitude.     Ma2:nificent  libraries 
were  destroyed  and  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand 
manuscripts  are  said  to  have  disappeared.     But  a  num- 
ber of  the  most  cultured  Greeks  sought  safety  in  flight 
and  bore   with   them   their   classical   treasures   to   the 
shores  of  Italy.     The  revival  of  learning  kindled  there 
by  the  advent'of  these  scholars,  just  as  the  mind  of  the 
West  was  awakening  from  the  slumber  of  ages.  l:ecame 
one  of  the  greatest  intellectual  revolutions  ever  known 
and  proved  ultimately  one  of  the  most  potent  human 
factors  in  securing  the  triumphs  of  the  Reformation. 
The  arrival  of  these  exiles  was  like  a  great  burst  of 
light  upon  a  people  that  had  long  been  shrouded  in 
darkness.     '^They   inspired  the   West  with  their  own 
love  for  Greece  and  its  immortal  works  of  genius  and 
there  arose  in  Italy  a  great  number  of  learned  men, 
who  in  like  manner  endeavored  to  restore  the  writers 
of  ancient  Rome  to  the  honor  they  merited."      The 
human  mind  became  once  more  conscious  of  its  powers 
and  proceeded  to  assert  its  inalienable  freedom  of  ex- 
pansion, of  activity,  of  inquiry  and  of  criticism,  thus 
breaking  the  bonds  of  sacerdotal  training  by  which  it 
had  for  ages  been  fettered. 

The  ignorance  and  simplicity,  the  incredulity  and 
infantile  pupilage  of  Europe  at  that  period  is  some- 
thing absolutely  astounding.  Roman  Catholicism  had 
assumed  the  role  not  only  of  the  spiritual  but  also  of 
the  literary  guardian  of  the  people,  anrl  its  provision 
for  their  intellectual  nourishment  was  even  more 
meagre  and  baneful  than  its  spiritual  nutriment.  To 
keep  them  in  ignorance,  to  repress  the  vital,  towering 


l66  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

energy  of  the  human  mind,  was  the  inevitable  outcome 
if  it  was  not  the  dehberate  purpose  of  Rome's  proced- 
ure in  the  domain  of  education.  In  what  estimate  the 
clergy  held  the  revival  of  learning  may  be  judged  from 
their  uneasiness  at  its  progress  and  the  conspiracy 
which  they  formed  against  it.  To  save  the  Church  it 
was  deemed  necessary  to  arrest  this  movement  in  the 
domain  of  science  and  literature.  The  study  rf  the 
classics,  of  grammar,  of  rhetoric  was  confessedly 
fraught  with  peril  to  the  hierarchy.  To  learn  Greek 
was  equivalent  to  becoming  a  heretic.  To  acquire  a 
knowledge  of  Hebrew  was  sure  to  make  a  man  a  Jew. 
Religion  is  ruined,  was  the  declaration  of  the  faculty 
of  Paris  to  the  French  Parliament,  if  you  permit  the 
study  of  Greek  and  Hebrew.  Reuchlin  when  a  youth 
had  to  be  sent  to  France  by  his  princely  patron  to  learn 
Greek  and  Hebrew,  since  Germany  had  not  then  a  sin- 
gle professor  of  these  languages. 

But  hierarchical  opposition  might  as  easily  have 
arrested  the  march  of  the  sun  in  the  heavens  as  to  have 
stopped  the  progress  of  the  new  literary  movement 
which  was  now  spreading  from  Italy  over  Europe,  giv- 
ing everywhere  a  powerful  momentum  to  intellectual 
activity,  kindling  new  aspirations,  cultivating  new 
tastes,  opening  up  new  worlds  in  the  spiritual  and  phys- 
ical universe,  liberalizing  and  broadening  the  views  of 
men,  stimulating  in  them  the  search  after  truth,  and 
giving  them  new  methods  for  its  discovery  and  new 
weapons  for  its  defense.  The  movement  reached  all 
classes.  The  foremost  monarchs  and  statesmen  of  the 
day,   Henry   VIII.,    Charles   V.,    Frederick   the   Wise 


THE    DRAMA   OF    PROVIDENCE.  1 67 

Elector,  were  the  patrons  of  humanistic  culture.  Eras- 
mus and  kindred  spirits  were  invited  to  their  splendid 
courts  that  they  might  cultivate  the  fruits  of  science 
and  learning  in  the  luxurious  gardens  of  royalty.  Its 
effects  reached  even  the  common  people.  What  the 
learned  saw  with  sharpened  vision  began  in  the  general 
illumination  to  dawn  even  on  uncultivated  eyes.  A 
popular  literature  appeared  which  affected  the  masses 
in  their  relation  to  the  existing  order  of  things  i.i  the 
same  manner  as  the  more  enlightened  few  had  been 
affected.  They  too  imbibed  a  taste  of  intellectual  lib- 
erty, which  they  knew  how  to  exercise  in  the  form  of 
private  judgment  when  the  hour  came  to  decide  be- 
tween the  old  regime  of  spiritual  bondage  and  the  new 
era  of  evangelical  freedom.  Learning  became  the 
fashion  of  the  day.  The  appetite  for  intellectual  food 
at  once  more  savory  and  more  wholesome  than  what 
the  old  tutors  brought  from  Rome  was  universal.  No 
one  knew  this  better  than  Erasmus,  who  was  himself 
the  incarnation  of  humanism  and  who  directed  his 
brilliant  genius  to  the  gratification  of  the  popular  taste, 

III.     THE    INVENTION    OF    PRINTING- 

This  event  which  in  its  boundless  influence  on 
human  society  is  the  greatest  of  all  inventions  ever 
devised  by  man,  was  brought  to  perfection  almost  in 
the  very  year  of  the  downfall  of  Constantinople.  This 
noble  art,  so  simple  that  one  would  reasonably  suppose 
it  might  have  originated  in  the  remotest  ages  and  that 
even  the  barbarian  intellect  might  have  suggested  it, 
was  in  some  way  mysterioush^  delayed  until  the  flight 


l68  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

of  the  Greek  literati  stirred  up  the  West  to  the  culture 
of  letters  when  it  might  at  once  contribute  its  incom- 
parable services  to  the  diffusion  of  knowledge,  add  its 
own  peculiar  incitement  to  intellectual  activity  and  in 
conjunction  with  the  revival  of  literature  become  a 
prodigious  element  in  bringing  about  the  most  gigan- 
tic social  revolution  of  modern  times. 

Verily  this  is  a  remarkable  coincidence !  An  amaz- 
ing instance  of  the  so-called  fortuitous  'concourse  of 
great  events !  The  more  so,  if  one  remembers  that  after 
having  been  originally  suggested  in  connection  with  the 
game  of  cards,  this  invention  was  not  primarily 
designed  to  stimulate  thought  or  quicken  mental  activ- 
ity, for  it  was  first  put  to  use  in  the  representation  of 
clumsy  engravings  of  the  saints  and  other  devices  of 
the  priests.  The  providential  feature  of  the  invention 
at  this  juncture  and  of  its  coincidence  with  the  newly 
awakened  passion  for  learning  will  be  better  recog- 
nized when  we  come  to  consider  the  immediate  rela- 
tion of  both  to  Luther's  work,  the  concurrence  of  both 
events  to  the  same  consummation.  It  may  be  well, 
however,  to  state  here  the  significant  fact  that  the  first 
book  which  ever  issued  from  a  printing  press  was  an 
edition  of  the  Bible  in  the  Latin  tongue,  published  by 
Gutenberg,  at  Mayence,  between  the  years  1450  and 
1455.  Copies  of  this  work  are  still  extant  though 
extremely  rare  and  valuable. 

IV.     THE   DISCOVERY    OF    AMERICA. 

In  the  general  awakening  which  characterized  the 
close   of   the   fifteenth   century   the   magnetic   compass 


THE    DRAMA   OF    PROVIDENCE.  1 69 

came  for  the  first  time  into  practice  and  general  use, 
enabling  mariners  to  cross  the  trackless  oceans  and  to 
explore  the  most  remote  seas.  Hence  this  is  the  period 
of  great  maritime  enterprises  and  momentous  geo- 
graphical discoveries,  Da  Gama  rounding  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope  opening  a  new  highway  to  the  East  Indies, 
Magellan  circumnavigating  the  globe,  and,  transcend- 
mg  all  others,  Christopher  Columbus  discovering  the 
American  continent  in  1492,  nine  years  after  the  birth 
of  Luther.  These  marvelous  achievements  in  travers- 
ing and  exploring  our  planet  served  like  an  electric 
shock  in  causing  a  sudden  enlargement  of  the  mass  of 
new  ideas  everywhere  springing  up,  creating  the  bold- 
est aspirations,  widening  the  horizon  of  thought  and 
endeavor,  and  aflfecting  to  an  incalculable  extent  the 
intellectual,  social  and  moral  improvement  of  mankind. 
Extensive  wars  of  conquest  necessarily  followed  these 
great  discoveries,  and  these  in  turn  were  succeeded  by 
the  beginnings  of  European  colonization  which  peopled 
the  new  world  with  organized  states  and  by  that  expan- 
sion of  commerce  which  gave  a  new  impulse  to  the 
intercourse  of  nations,  without  which  the  Reformation 
could  never  have  passed  the  frontier  of  a  few  German 
principalities. 

V.     THE    DISSOLUTION    OF    FEUDALISM- 

The  introduction  of  gunpowder  had  a  short  time 
anterior  to  this  period  effected  a  complete  revolution 
in  the  arts  of  war  and  had  along  with  it  overturned  the 
system  of  knighthood  and  produced  the  greatest 
changes  in  the  government  of  Europe.     That  atomic 


170  THE   HIGHER   ROCK. 

condition  of  society  in  which  each  feudal  lord  had  a 
quasi  sovereignty  over  his  tenantry  and  the  baronial 
castle  represented  the  essential  form  and  force  of  civil 
government,  was  just  the  agency  needed  by  the  papacy 
to  repress  both  the  spirit  of  nationality  and  that  growth 
of  national  power  and  grandeur  to  which  civilized 
society  naturally  tends.  The  sceptre  of  the  sovereign 
was  often  an  empty  badge  and  the  wily  policy  of  the 
popes  had  for  centuries  employed  the  services  of  a  por- 
tion of  the  nobles  to  humble  the  crown  and  to  hold 
kings  and  nations  under  their  feet.  "The  world  had 
been  accustomed  to  but  one  real  authority,  that  of  the 
pope.  All  political  as  well  as  religious  questions  were 
referred  to  one  tribunal,  supreme  and  infallible,  the 
pope's.  The  decisions  of  the  Holy  See  had  to  be 
obeyed — whether  they  supported  or  overthrew  the  gov- 
ernment of  princes.  Europe  was  a  single  political  fam- 
ily under  the  guardianship  of  Rome." 

All  princes  and  peoples  of  the  most  heterogeneous 
character  were  banded  together  under  the  Church  and 
everything  was  moulded  and  controlled  by  the  clergy 
and  made  subservient  to  the  hierarchy.  But  a  reaction 
of  national  feeling  was  taking  place.  The  papal  domi- 
nation gave  rise  to  struggles  for  independence  and  its 
very  oppressions  caused  that  development  of  monarch- 
ical power  which  we  shall  see  became  one  of  its  most 
formidable  antagonists.  The  passion  for  learning  had 
taken  the  place  of  the  ancient  spirit  of  chivalry  and 
under  the  general  intellectual  quickening  nations  be- 
came conscious  of  their  rights  and  of  their  power,  and 
the  popular  trend  was  toward  centralization,  toward  the 


THE    DRAMA   OF    PROVIDENCE.  171 

consolidation  of  civil  government.  "It  was  during  the 
fifteenth  century,"  says  Prof.  Fisher,  "that  the  Euro- 
pean monarchies  were  acquiring  a  firm  organization. " 
The  great  feudatories  were  then  subjected  to  the 
crown.  The  dominant  spirit  was  that  of  nationality. 
Powerful  leaders  had  arisen  who  directed  and  moulded 
this  tendency  into  a  compact  state-system,  monarchs 
that  knew  to  defend  their  people  from  hierarchical 
tyrants  who  under  the  guise  of  spiritual  shepherds 
were  so  many  dogs  and  wolves  turned  loose  upon  the 
sheep. 

It  proved  of  immense  consequence  to  the  Reforma- 
tion that  just  before  or  simultaneous  with  its  rise 
princes  like  Ferdinand  of  Arragon,  Maximilian  of  Aus- 
tria, Frederick  of  Saxony,  Charles  V.  of  Germany,  and 
Henry  VIII.  of  England,  had  come  to  the  throne, 
minds  that  instinctively  renounced  the  encroachmLiU^ 
and  assumptions  of  the  papacy,  minds  which  though 
they  had  been  carefully  trained  by  the  clergy  yet  had 
been  sufficiently  enlightened  by  the  new  learning  to 
recognize  the  popes'  usurpations  in  the  sphere  of  tem- 
poral power  and  to  note  their  proficiency  in  the  basest 
arts  of  diplomacy  and  dissimulation.  These  men  had 
wit  enough  to  detect  a  scoundrel  even  when  he  was 
wearing  the  papal  tiara,  and  they  had  no  hesitation  in 
opposing  with  all  the  rnight  of  secular  power  those 
Holy  Fathers  who  were  prostituting  their  spiritual 
functions  in  the  pursuit  of  secular  power  for  them- 
selves or  their  families.  What  could  have  saved  Christ- 
endom from  lying  helpless  under  their  spiritual  and 
temporal  rule  had  not  just  at  this   juncture  powerful 


172  THE   HIGHER    ROCK. 

monarchies  been  developed  to  cope  with  their  unholy 
schemes  and,  by  denying  the  validity  of  their  political 
claims,  to  shatter  the  faith  of  the  world  in  their  spirit- 
ual authority? 

By  this  rise  of  monarchical  governments,  further- 
more, the  different  peoples  composing  single  nations 
were  brought  into  closer  social  and  political  relations 
with  each  other,  and  each  nation  with  its  own  language, 
culture,  laws  and  institutions  animated  by  a  national 
spirit,  developed  into  a  separate  individual  organism 
and  rendered  capable  of  standing  as  one  body  by  the 
sovereign  against  the  pope  when  the  great  contest  should 
arise.  Along  with  the  establishment  of  stalwart  mon- 
archies this  era  witnessed  also  the  powerful  develop- 
ment of  free  cities  which  were  made  up  of  the  sturdy 
middle  classes,  a  body  of  citizens  whose  diversified 
industry  and  extensive  commerce  had  sharpened  and 
invigorated  their  practical  understanding  and  who  long 
before  the  appearance  of  Luther  had  learned  to  defend 
their  rights  aginst  imperious  Bishops. 

Passing  by  other  extraordinary  and  memorable 
occurrences  that  transpired  on  the  eve  of  the  Reforma- 
tion, we  will  now  consider  the  relation  which  each  of 
those  that  have  been  noted  bore  to  the  Reformation, 
and  especially  the  marvelous  concurrence  of  all  to 
bring  about  that  sublime  consummation. 

As  it  is  not  material  to  follow  either  the  order  in 
which  they  have  been  given  here  or  that  of  their  chron- 
ological sequence,  let  us  look,  first,  at  that  which  was 
manifestly  the  most  direct  and  powerful  agency  of 
providence  in  inaugurating  the  Reformation, 


THE    DRAMA   OF    PROVIDENCE.  1 73 

THE   REVIVAL   OF   LETTERS. 

The  awakening-  of  the  human  mind  from  its  me- 
diaeval stupor,  the  incitement  to  intellectual  freedom 
and  activity,  the  boldness  of  inquiry  and  of  criticism 
which  attended  this  movement,  was  in  the  highest  de- 
gree prejudicial  to  the  old  order.  The  enlargement  of 
the  area  of  human  thought,  the  multiplication  of  sub- 
jects for  investigation,  and  the  universal  impulse  felt  to 
freelv  prosecute  investigation  and  exercise  individual 
judgment,  was  everywhere  tantamount  to  revolution  and 
reform.  It  was  as  if  the  light  of  da}-  had  suddenly  fallen 
upon  a  dark  hemisphere  and  revealed  to  the  gaze  and 
horror  of  the  public,  the  frightful  disorders  and  putre- 
factions that  abounded.  The  absurdities  of  the  school- 
men, the  rapacity  of  the  bishops,  the  ignorance  and 
impurity  of  the  priests,  the  gluttony  and  idleness  of  the 
monks  were  held  up  to  the  merciless  ridicule  in  the 
writings  of  the  humanists.  Under  the  glare  of  this 
strong  light,  the  papal  system  was  brought  into  re- 
proach, its  hoary  structure  was  shaken  to  the  base,  the 
confidence  of  all  classes  in  its  infallible  authority  was 
subverted  and  its  leadership  and  spiritual  supervision 
which  had  for  ages  remained  unchallenged  was  deemed 
no  longer  necessary  or  adequate.  Hallam  says :  "The 
greater  part  of  literature  after  the  twelfth  century  may 
be  considered  as  artillery  leveled  against  the  clergy. 
The  literature  of  Germany  a  little  before  the  Reforma- 
tion was  employed  as  the  vehicle  for  castigating  the 
vices  of  priests  and  monks.  Dante  and  Petrarch  sig- 
nalized the  beginning  of  a  national  literature  by  their 
denunciation  of  the  vices  and  usurpations  of  the  pa- 


174  THE    HIGHER    ROCK, 

pacy.  Chaucer  in  England  shows  the  same  hostility. 
Everywhere  we  find  bitter  censure  of  the  arrogance, 
wealth  and  tyranny  of  the  ecclesiastics."  The  literary 
revival,  as  was  stated  above,  affected  even  the  lower 
classes.  Popular  satires  inveighing  against  the  immor- 
alities of  the  clergy,  their  stupid  ceremonies  and  the 
like,  were  widely  circulated  and  produced  a  general 
horror  of  the  Roman  name. 

It  is  not  claimed  that  the  literary  censors  of  this 
period  were  always  the  apostles  of  truth,  but  they  knew 
how  to  smite  error,  and  their  ridicule  of  the  ruling 
spiritual  powers  and  their  caustic  denunciation  of  prev- 
alent evils  destroyed  the  prestige  of  the  Holy  Mother 
Church  and  broke  the  enchantment  by  which  Christen- 
dom has  been  held  under  her  sway.  Thus  men  were 
gradually  prepared  to  listen  to  other  voices  and  to  fol- 
low other  shepherds.  When  Luther  subsequently  gave 
utterance  to  his  fierce  and  terrific  vituperation  of  the 
papists — utterances  which  would  once  have  been  held 
blasphemous — he  did  not  shock  the  public  ear.  He 
used  invectives  and  pronounced  maledictions  with 
which  the  people  had  long  grown  familiar.  So  gener- 
ally and  so  bitterly  had  the  old  order  been  denounced 
that  the  people  hated  and  dreaded  Rome  before  the 
Reformer  uttered  one  syllable  against  it. 

Invaluable  as  were  the  services  of  these  literary 
lights  in  scattering  the  darkness  and  thereby  spreading 
and  intensifying  the  conviction  that  a  thorough  reform 
was  needed,  it  was  not  only  in  the  work  of  destruction 
that  they  were  the  pioneers  of  the  Reformation.  They 
did  a  positive  work,  the  value  and  extent  of  which  it  is 


THE   DRAMA   OF   PROVIDENCE.  1 75 

impossible  to  overestimate.  They  diffused  over  their 
age  a  love  of  learning,  they  awakened  a  spirit  of  inquiry 
and  criticism,  but  above  all  by  their  philological  studies 
they  opened  to  men's  minds  the  incomparable  treasures 
of  the  Scriptures,  after  having  created  a  literary  taste 
which  was  quick  to  discern  their  measureless  superior- 
ity to  the  writings  of  the  theologians  and  schoolmen. 
While  they  kept  protesting  that  it  was  not  their  pur- 
pose to  strike  at  the  faith  of  the  Church,  they  dealt  it  a 
fatal  blow  by  placing  practically  the  Bible  in  its  match- 
less style  and  priceless  contents  above  the  teachings  of 
the  doctors. 

It  was  especially  in  Germany  that  the  services  of 
humanism  were  earnestly  given  to  the  interests  oi  a 
purified  Christianity.  Reuchlin,  for  instance,  its  fore- 
most humanist,  wrote  a  Greek  grammar  which  greatly 
facilitated  the  study  of  that  language  and  therewith 
of  the  original  New  Testament,  and  was  the  first  to 
publish  in  that  country  both  a  Hebrew  grammar  and 
dictionary,  thus  furnishing  the  key  to  the  long-sealed 
book  of  life,  providing  men  with  a  touchstone  by  which 
they  might  judge  of  the  teachings  of  the  Church  and 
test  the  doctrines  of  the  Reformers  when  they  came  to 
be  promulgated,  and  laying  the  sure  foundations  upon 
which  alone  a  radical  and  enduring  reformation  could 
be  effected.  Luther  acknowledging  the  work  of  Reuch- 
lin adds :  "The  Lord  has  been  at  work  in  you  that  the 
light  of  Holy  Scripture  might  again  shine  into  that 
Germany  where  it  had  so  long  been  extinct." 

In  England  also  the  literary  movement  was  di- 
rectly  and  powerfully  conducive   to  the   Reformation. 


176  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

Nowhere  else  had  this  movement  penetrated  so  far  into 
the  ranks  of  the  ruHng  classes  as  in  that  kingdom. 
Henry  VIII.  was  himself  the  most  learned  prince  of 
that  era.  Vulgar  and  sensuous  as  he  was,  it  is  said  of 
him  that  he  could  not  live  without  the  learned.  His 
court  was  turned  into  rendezvous  for  the  representa- 
tives of  classic  culture.  There  was  Thomas  More,  in- 
spired by  the  love  of  knowledge  and  in  full  sympathy 
with  the  advancing  spirit  of  the  age,  representing  in  his 
Utopia  a  state  of  religion  which  was  certainly  very  far 
removed  from  the  practices  and  principles  of  the  exist- 
ing hierarchy.  Even  Wolsey  could  not  resist  the  popu- 
lar tide,  but  affecting  humanism  and  intent  on  keeping 
with  the  fashion  of  the  day  he  took  to  confiscating 
monasteries  and  founding  colleges  with  the  revenues 
thus  acquired.  There  was  Colet,  Dean  of  St.  Paul's, 
whose  lectures  at  Oxford  caused  as  great  alarm  to  the 
schoolmen  as  they  gave  delight  to  all  who  had  come 
under  the  influence  of  the  new  awakening,  whose  gos- 
pel sermons  held  London  audiences  spell-bound,  and 
whose  school  established  somewhat  later  exerted  a 
potent  influence  in  favor  of  classical  and  biblical  studies 
and  in  behalf  of  true  spiritual  enlightenment.  London 
was  a  new  Athens.  And  hitherto,  towering  above  all 
other  literary  men  of  the  age,  came  Erasmus,  confess- 
edly the  most  influential  person  in  Christendom,  to 
whose  sojourn  in  England  and  especially  to  whose  inti- 
mate relations  with  the  sovereign,  the  philosophic  his- 
torian must  in  great  part  ascribe  the  Reformation  of 
the  English  Church.  His  numerous  writings  in  which 
he  held  up  to  merciless  ridicule  the  idleness,  illiteracy, 


THE   DRAMA   OF    PROVIDENCE.  1 77 

self-indulgence  and  absurd  practices  of  the  monks,  fell 
like  enchantment  upon  the  public  mind  and  "were  read 
with  infinite  amusement  by  all  who  sympathized  with 
the  new  studies  and  by  thousands  who  did  not  calculate 
the  effect  of  this  telling  satire  in  abating  popular  rever- 
ence for  the  Church." 

But  the  hand  of  Erasmus  put  forth  a  volume  more 
effectual  in  the  creation  of  a  new  spiritual  life  than  his 
scathing  satires.  The  glory  of  achieving  the  English 
reformation  was  reserved  for  the  Word  of  God  by 
which  alone  the  truth  and  the  Church  of  Christ  can  be 
maintained  in  the  world.  The  crowning  work  of 
humanism  was  the  appearance  of  Erasmus'  edition  of 
the  Greek  Testament,  the  most  brilliant,  the  most  mem- 
orable of  all  his  productions.  No  copies  of  the  Scrip- 
tures were  then  accessible  save  the  Vulgate,  known  to 
be  full  of  errors  and  obscurities,  and  nothing  could 
have  been  more  opportune  or  more  important  than  the 
publication  of  the  pure  and  original  text  of  the  New 
Testament  at  this  juncture.  A  new-  Latin  translation 
and  learned  annotations  accompanied  the  volume  and 
it  found  its  way  at  once  among  all  the  friends  of  learn- 
ing— especially  in  England,  where  groups  of  students 
at  the  universities  were  poring  over  its  pages  with  rap- 
ture in  animated  circles  discussing  its  saving  truths. 
"Never  had  any  book  produced  such  an  enthusiasm. 
It  was  in  every  hand."  Thus,  independently  of  Luther, 
in  fact  a  year  or  so  in  advance  of  the  movement  at 
Wittenberg,  Erasmus  inaugurated  the  Reformation 
beyond  the  channel,  without,  however,  having  any  idea 
of  the  momentous  results  which  his  Greek  Testament 
12 


178  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

was  destined  to  accomplish.  Without  ever  intending  it 
he  was  instrumental  in  bringing  about  the  same  con- 
summation for  which  Luther  battled  with  all  his  might. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  had  Erasmus  foreseen  the 
effect  of  what  was  to  him  only  a  literary  exploit,  he 
would  have  recoiled  from  the  storm.  He  builded  bet- 
ter than  he  knew. 

The  adversaries  of  the  new  learning  and  the  new 
life  had  keener  eyes.  Said  Edward  Lee:  "If  we  do 
not  stop  this  leak  it  will  sink  the  ship.  No  landing  of 
foreign  enemies  could  be  so  fatal  as  this  invasion  of  the 
Greek  Testament.  If  this  book  be  tolerated  it  will  be 
the  death  of  the  papacy." 

How  wonderful  are  the  successive  stages  in  the 
agency  of  divine  providence !  First  there  is  kindled  in 
the  human  mind  a  desire  for  learning.  The  study  of 
languages  becomes  the  vehicle  for  gratifying  this  pas- 
sion. The  reading  of  the  Scriptures  follows  at  first 
purely  in  the  interests  of  literature.  Their  vivifying 
power  produces  spiritual  awakening  among  the  learned 
and  these  in  turn  by  their  philological  attainments  are 
able  to  translate  them  into  the  language  of  the  people, 
and  these  again  by  the  universal  impulse  which  the  lit- 
erary movement  had  given  to  all  classes  had  become 
capable  of  reading  them.  Thus  the  regeneration  of 
religion  was  the  inevitable  consequence  of  the  restora- 
tion of  letters.  D'Aubigne  remarks  that  the  Reforma- 
tion is  the  result  of  two  distinct  forces,  the  revival  of 
learning  and  the  resurrection  of  God's  Word.  It  is 
nearer  the  truth  to  say  that  the  Reformation  followed 


THE   DRAMA   OF    PROVIDKNXE.  1 79 

the  resurrection  of  God's  Word  and  that  this  resurrec- 
tion was  due  under  God  to  the  revival  of  learning. 

But  how  could  humanism  have  effected  such  a 
wide  diffusion  of  knowledge  and  produced  such  a  uni- 
versal awakening  had  it  not  been  for 

THE    INVENTION   OF    PRINTING. 

which  was  happily  made  at  this  time.  How  many  edi- 
tions of  Erasmus'  Greek  Testament  would  have  been 
required,  how  many  copies  of  Luther's  German  Bible 
would  have  fallen  into  the  hands  of  eager  readers,  had 
there  been  no  other  means  for  their  multiplication  than 
the  slow  process  of  deciphering  manuscripts  and  copy- 
ing them  by  hand  ?  Or  had  their  multiplication  even 
been  possible,  of  what  consequence  would  a  hundred 
thousand  copies  have  proved,  had  not  this  astounding 
invention  excited  a  universal  desire  to  read  and  to  gain 
knowledge  ? 

On  the  other  hand,  had  the  art  of  printing  been 
discovered  in  the  tenth  or  even  the  thirteenth  century 
it  could  only  have  served  the  interests  of  superstition 
and  advanced  the  schemes  of  an  oppressive  hierarchy. 
Those  days  were  not  marked  by  any  real  scholarship 
or  generous  aspirations  after  truth.  No  copy  of  the 
Bible  was  known  besides  the  Vulgate  and  few  if  any 
throughout  the  West  could  have  read  the  Greek  Testa- 
ment, even  if  one  had  been  edited  and  published. 

The  greatest  of  all  inventions  was  delayed  until 
this  period  when  in  the  fierce  struggle  between  truth 
and  error  it  might  render  its  invaluable  services  to  the 


l8o  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

triumph  of  the  Gospel.  Like  that  mysterious  force  in 
nature  which  in  the  spring-tide  opens  the  innumerable 
leaves  of  the  forest,  so  the  printing-press  entered  into 
the  realm  of  thought  just  as  new  life  was  everywhere 
bursting  forth  from  a  wintry  torpor  and  covered  the 
earth  with  leaves  of  healing. 

The  advance  of  learning  culminated,  as  we  have 
seen,  in  the  Reformation — but  the  engine  which  pro- 
pelled that  advance  to  its  ultimate  victory  was  the  new 
art  of  printing. 

The  principal  impulse  to  the  revival  of  letters,  it 
has  been  already  noted,  owed  its  origin  to 

THE    FALL   OF   CONSTANTINOPLE- 

and  the  consequent  exodus  of  eastern  scholars  with 
their  treasures  to  the  West.  The  tempest  which  over- 
threw the  last  remnants  of  Greek  rule  scattered  the 
seeds  of  Greek  literature  over  the  fertile  but  hitherto 
uncultivated  fields  of  the  West. 

This,  was,  however,  not  the  only  bearing  which 
that  eventful  catastrophe  sustained  to  the  work  of 
Luther.  It  was  a  stroke  of  providence,  the  effects  of 
which  were  discernible  all  through  the  Reformation 
era.  Having  effected  this  conquest  of  the  Eastern 
Capital,  Mahomet  H.  at  once  made  it  the  seat  of  gov- 
ernment, and  from  that  hour  to  the  present  day  it  has 
been  the  centre  and  stronghold  of  the  Ottoman  power. 
Securely  entrenched  on  the  shores  of  the  Bosphorus  all 
Europe  lay  open  to  the  valor  and  conquest  of  the  Turk- 
ish arms.  And  the  distance  from  Constantinople  to 
the  Eastern  frontier  of  Germany  is  not  so  great  but 


THE    DRAMA    OF    PROVIDENCE.  l8l 

that  the  peril  of  a  Turkish  invasion  kept  the  people  and 
the  princes  in  constant  terror.     Hence  the  crisis  of  the 
Reformation  was  at  hand  and  the  emperor  on  different 
occasions  was  resolved  upon  its  suppression  by  military 
force.     He  found  his  dominions  threatened  by  a  more 
dangerous    foe    than    the    Reformers,    and    instead    of 
slaughtering  his  Lutheran  subjects  he  was  constrained 
to  leave  them  in  peace  and  to  implore  their  aid  against 
the  common  danger.    As  long  as  the  armies  of  a  united 
country  were  indispensable  to  the  defense  of  the  empire 
from  the  Turk,  it  was  impossible  for  the  Catholic  states 
to  fall  upon  Lutheran  countries  and  crush  out  the  new 
faith  by  the  sword.     A  striking  illustration  of  this  oc- 
curred in  the  year   1532,   when   after  the   melancholy 
collapse  of  the  Swiss  Reformation  in  the  second  peace 
of    Cappel,    the    imperial    government    determined    to 
inflict  the  fatal  blow  also  upon  the  Lutherans.     Their 
condition  seemed  desperate.    But  as  the  Sultan's  army, 
three  hundred   thousand   strong,  was  rolling  over  the 
plains  of  Hungary  towards  the  gates  of  Vienna  and  the 
haughty  invader  spurned  even  the  most  ignoble  pro- 
posals offered   by    Ferdinand   of  Austria,   the   terror- 
stricken     Romanists     w^ere     compelled     to     grant     the 
Nuremberg    Religious    Peace,    and    to    promise    the 
Lutherans  a  free  General  Council  in  which  all  matters 
at  issue  should  be  decided  according  to  the   word  of 
God  alone.     In 

THE   DOWNFALL   OF   FEUDALISM, 
we  recognize  another  stroke  of  Providence  making  for 
the  Reformation.     There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  ten- 


l82  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

dency  toward  a  centralization  of  civil  government,  the 
spirit  of  nationality  which  developed  into  powerful 
monarchies,  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  levers  to 
Aveaken  the  authority  of  the  clergy  and  to  overturn 
"both  the  secular  and  spiritual  authority  of  the  papacy. 
■"As  early  as  the  fourteenth  century,"  says  a  discerning 
historian,  "monarchy  was  the  watchword  of  the  adver- 
saries of  papal  power,  the  symbol  of  the  new  genera- 
tion that  was  preparing  to  break  loose  from  the  dor- 
mant ideas  of  the  middle  ages." 

Aided  by  the  general  illumination  which  the  new 
learning  effected,  jurists  and  theologians  examined 
into  the  origin  of  the  empire  and  the  nature  of  mon- 
archy in  general.  They  instituted  historical  and  critical 
inquiries  regarding  the  foundations  of  civil  authority 
and  the  grounds  on  which  papal  interferences  were 
based — and  the  outcome  was  always  the  same,  a  denial 
of  papal  supremacy.  The  rights  of  the  throne  were 
maintained  over  against  the  encroachments  of  the 
Church.  Nor  were  these  writers  always  careful  to 
draw  the  distinction  between  secular  and  religious 
power.  Having  renounced  the  pope's  jurisdiction  in 
the  sphere  of  civil  government  they  were  often  led  by 
stress  of  the  same  logic  to  question  the  validity  of  his 
authority  in  matters  of  faith. 

Having  so  long  engaged  in  schemes  of  a  purely 
selfish  and  political  nature,  the  popes  came  in  fact  to 
he  looked  upon  chiefly  in  their  political  character,  and 
the  princes  of  that  era  dealt  wnth  them  on  that  score. 
They  recognized  their  secular  ambition.  They  beheld 
the  compromise  of  their  spiritual   functions   for  tern- 


THE    DRAMA   OF    PROVIDENCE.  1 83 

poral  ends  and  were  constantly  alarmed  at  the  danger 
which  their  intrigues  and  usurpations  threatened  to 
civil  rule  and  national  integrity.  "Take  good  care  of 
Luther,"  wrote  the  Catholic  emperor,  Maximilian,  to 
Frederick  the  Wise,  "we  may  have  need  of  him  some 
time  or  other." 

A  monarch  with  the  energy  of  Edward  III.  knew 
even  in  the  fourteenth  century  how  to  protect  the  re- 
former Wyckliffe  from  papal  violence.  But  it  is  in  the 
sixteenth  century  that  we  see  preeminently  the  over- 
ruling providence  of  God  in  raising  up  powerful  mon- 
archs  to  shield  the  Reformers  of  the  Church  from  the 
fury  of  Rome.  Of  Frederick  the  Wise  it  has  been 
truly  said :  "Providence  claims  our  admiration  in  the 
choice  it  made  of  such  a  ruler  to  protect  its  work." 
And  in  England,  where  there  was  a  lamentable  absence 
of  decided  and  intrepid  reformers  in  the  Church,  what 
earthly  power  could  have  saved  the  Reformation  from 
being  readily  extinguished,  had  it  not  been  for  the 
resolution  and  energy,  not  to  say,  the  violence  of  King 
Henry.  It  was  his  strong  royal  hand  that  rent  in  sun- 
der the  papal  chain  which  an  ignoble  predecessor  like 
John  Lackland  in  a  previous  age  had  helped  to  forge. 

Even  Charles  V.,  hostile  as  he  was  to  Luther's 
doctrines,  would  have  pursued  a  very  different  course 
against  him.  had  he  been  a  Henry  IV.,  who  laid  him- 
self and  his  empire  in  abject  humiliation  at  the  feet  of 
his  papal  master,  or  a  Sigismund,  who  at  the  instiga- 
tion of  papists  consented  to  break  faith  with  Huss  and 
to  cancel  his  safe-conduct.  He  bore  no  love  to  the 
Lutherans,  but  when  the  pope  treacherously  headed  a 


184  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

powerful  coalition  against  the  emperor,  he  had  a 
Lutheran  army  march  to  Rome  and  administer  to  the 
Holy  Pontiff  a  well-merited  and  salutary  chastisement. 
Finally, 

THE   DISCOVERY   OF   AMERICA. 

bore  its  meed  of  fruitage  to  the  reformation  movement. 
Apart  from  the  influence  of  this  and  other  great  dis- 
coveries in  broadening  the  field  of  human  enterprise 
and  widening  the  horizon  of  human  thought,  it  was 
peculiarly  fortunate  for  Lutheranism  in  Germany  that 
the  best  energies  of  Spain  were  being  devoted  to  an- 
other continent.  The  eyes  of  that  great  country,  then 
the  first  European  power,  were  fixed  on  the  western 
domain  rather  than  on  the  eastern  frontier  of  that  al- 
most universal  empire.  The  Spaniards  were  more  con- 
cerned about  a  new  continent  than  about  a  new  religion. 
The  emperor  had  indeed  some  Spanish  soldiery  tramp- 
ing over  the  free  soil  of  the  empire,  but  Mexico  pre- 
vented him  from  hurling  the  vast  power  of  that  mon- 
archy upon  Lutheran  Germany.  The  silver  and  gold 
that  were  pouring  into  the  treasuries  of  Spain  from  her 
conquest  beyond  the  Atlantic  were  more  gratifying  tO' 
Spanish  passions  than  the  work  of  slaughtering  here- 
tics.   The  new  world  eclipsed  the  eternal  world. 

It  is,  indeed,  rather  noteworthy  that  Cortez  after 
the  battle  of  Otumba,  was  advancing  to  the  siege  of 
Mexico,  the  very  month  that  Luther  burnt  the  pope's 
bull  at  Wittenberg. 

We  have  thus  outlined  a  series  of  remark  ble 
events  which  transpired  on  the  eve  of  the  Reformation^ 


THE   DRAMA   OF   PROVIDENCE.  1 85 

events  which  in  the  diversity  of  their  character,  in  the 
combination  of  their  tendencies  and  the  unity  of  pur- 
pose which  they  reveal,  constitute  a  drama  of  divine 
Providence  that  challenges  the  admira*ion  of  the  phil- 
osopher, the  faith  of  the  Christian,  the  gratitude  of  the 
Protestant.  One  could  as  readily  believe  the  events  of 
the  creative  week  to  be  but  the  fortuitous  concour  e  of 
material  forces,  as  to  regard  these  mighty  soci  1  and 
religious  movements  as  but  a  number  of  isolated,  casual 
circumstances  destitute  of  a  telic  character.  Like  those 
creative  days  that  preceded  the  appearance  of  mankind 
these  vast  changes  proved  to  be  not  merely  the  signs 
of  the  advent  of  a  new  order  but  the  historic  founda- 
tions on  which  the  new  order  was  destined  to  rest. 

■  Think  of  it!  Mahomet  and  Columbus,  Charles  V. 
and  Henry  VIII.,  Frederick  the  Wise  and  Cortez  the 
Dauntless,  Gutenberg  and  Erasmus,  Hutten  and 
Wolsey,  men  of  the  most  opposite  character  and  aim 
all  combining  to  bring  about  the  same  tremendous 
result,  all  unconsciously  moving  in  chorus  to  the  same 
consummation,  overturning  the  prestige  of  the  Roman 
See,  effecting  intellectual  and  spiritual  emancipation, 
producing  a  profound  disaffection  with  the  existing 
state  of  things  and  causing  a  universal  change  in  so- 
ciety, so  that  princes  and  peoples,  philosophers  and 
peasants  stood  like  sentinels  on  their  watch  towers  wait- 
ing for  a  mighty  revolution,  listening  for  the  first  blast 
of  Luther's  trumpet. 


II.     THE  LUTHERAN  CHURCH  IN  HISTORY. 

With  the  Lutheran  Church  as  the  first  army  that 
waged  successful  battle  with  Rome,  modern  history 
has  its  birth.  The  papacy  had  been  assaulted  again 
and  again,  only  to  emerge  from  every  contest  mightier 
and  prouder  and  wickeder  than  before,  its  foes  crushed 
beneath  an  iron  heel,  its  subjects,  including  kings  and 
bishops,  as  well  as  the  masses,  prostrate  and  helpless 
at  its  feet.  There  never  was  such  a  despotism  as  that 
of  the  Romish  hierarchy.  There  never  was  a  power 
so  absolute,  so  neary  omnipotent.  It  was  the  supreme 
temporal  and  spiritual  authority,  it  held  in  subjection 
men's  bodies  and  their  souls,  it  was  sovereign  over  rea- 
son and  over  conscience,  it  held  in  subjection  the  most 
powerful  monarch  as  well  as  the  slave  stripped  of  every 
vestige  of  freedom.  From  its  fiat  there  lay  no  appeal 
to  any  one  on  earth  or  in  heaven.  To  question  its 
decision  was  to  incur  its  inexorable  sentence.  To 
resist  its  authority  was  to  find  no  escape  possible  from 
its  most  brutal  and  ruthless  exercise. 

How  such  a  revolution  was  effected  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  how  the  colossal  power  of  Rome  was  broken, 
Lutherans  can  never  forget.  A  company  of  earnest 
believers  had  experienced  that  salvation  is  a  free  gift, 
that  Christ  atoned  for  all  actual  sins  of  men,  that  the 
sinner  is  justified  by  faith  alone.  They  found  this  to 
be  the  doctrine  of  Scriptures,  and  they  proceeded  to 
preach  it  and  to  teach  it  and  to  sing  it  and  to  live  it 

(i86) 


THE    LUTHERAN   CHURCH    IN    HISTORY.        187 

everywhere.  And  the  result  was  the  vanishing  of 
spiritual  darkness  before  the  rising  sun ;  it  was  life  from 
the  dead,  it  was  a  revolution  dividing  Christendom  on 
the  line  of  Rome  and  the  Reformation,  a  revolution 
that  contained  the  germs  and  the  pledge  of  every  ad- 
vance that  society  has  made  in  400  years.  The  men 
w'ho  were  God's  instruments  in  achieving  this  result 
were  styled  Lutherans  and  the  Church  constituted  by 
their  administration  of  word  and  sacrament  was  called 
in  derision  the  Lutheran  Church. 

Other  communions  in  opposition  to  Rome  came 
into  being,  and  with  largely  the  same  ideas,  but  not 
simultaneously.  No  other  Evangelical  Church  can 
claim  to  be  a  twin  sister  of  the  Lutheran.  Zwingle 
was  indeed  at  work,  as  early  as  Luther,  denouncing 
some  crying  corruptions,  but  the  historian  can  easily 
premise  what  would  have  become  of  his  religio-polit- 
ical  reforms  had  it  not  been  for  the  impulse  which 
came  from  Wittenberg,  and  for  the  later  conservatism 
and  sacramental  modifications  which  the  more  powerful 
Calvin  superinduced  upon  the  radical  movement  of  the 
Swiss  patriot. 

It  was  two  years  after  the  presentation  of  the 
Augsburg  Confession  when  Calvin  espoused  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Reformation,  fifteen  years,  therefore,  after 
the  posting  of  the  ninety-five  theses. 

It  is  undisputed  that  Luther's  writings  set  Eng- 
land aflame  with  the  reformatory  agitations,  and  that 
the  new  birth  of  the  English  Church  was  witnessed 
long  after  the  Church  of  Germany  had  cast  oflF  the 
papal  rule,  that  it  was  in  fact  brought  about  by  English 


1 88  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

divines  like  Cranmer  who  had  sat  at  the  feet  of  Luth- 
eran theologians,  and  by  Lutheran  divines  like  Bucer 
who  held  professional  chairs  in  English  universities. 

The  circumstance  that  the  earliest  reforms  in  every 
country  were  called  Lutherans  shows  the  relation  which 
they  bore  to  the  great  Reformer,  and  reveals  the  gen- 
etic relation  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  to  their 
churches.  The  Lutheran  Church  did  not  only  precede 
these  other  communions ;  she  gave  birth  to  them.  She 
is  the  parent  Evangelical  Church,  the  mother  of 
Protestantism.  At  the  time  of  the  immortal  Protest  at 
Spires  in  1526,  evangelical  doctrines  had  not  taken 
form  nor  shape  outside  of  Germany  except  in  a  few 
small  Swiss  cantons,  which,  by  the  way,  illustrates  the 
measure  of  intelligence  possessed  by  men  who  ques- 
tion the  Protestantism  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 

All  the  other  great  historic  churches  have  sprung 
from  the  Lutheran.  To  her  repudiation  of  papal  as- 
sumptions, to  her  translation  of  the  Scriptures,  and  to 
the  saving  doctrines  preached  by  her  leaders  at  the  peril 
of  their  lives  they  ow-e  their  existence.  "Her  Confes- 
sion," says  Dr.  Schaff,  "struck  the  keynote  to  the  other 
Evangelical  Confessions."  And  no  church  can  prop- 
erly claim  to  be  a  church  until  it  rests  on  a  confession. 

The  Lutheran  Church  is  the  great  mediating  power 
between  ancient  and  modern  Christianity.  She  struck 
her  roots  deep  into  the  past  and  enriched  her  strength 
from  the  soil  of  the  church  in  every  age  between 
Luther's  and  that  of  the  Apostles.  She  is  the  Conserv- 
ative Church.  The  reformation  effected  by  her  is  known 
as  the  Conservative  Reformation.     Others  were  deter- 


THE    LUTHERAN   CHURCH    IN    HISTORY.        1 89 

mined  to  break  with  the  past,  to  cut  loose  from  the 
historic  stream,  to  start  anew  the  development  of  Chris- 
tian institutions.  The  Lutherans  planted  themselves 
on  an  unbroken  continuity  of  development,  they  took 
their  position  on  a  historic  basis,  they  believed  that 
Christ  had  never  abdicated  His  place  at  the  head  of 
the  Church,  nor  the  Spirit  withdrawn  from  its  bosom. 

What  was  needed  was  purification  and  not  destruc- 
tion. Hands  were  laid  sparing-ly  on  existing  institu- 
tions. Whatever  is  good  and  true  and  precious  must 
be  conserved.  Whatever  is  not  in  opposition  to  the 
word  of  God  must  stand  as  a  healthful  and  useful  devel- 
opment. Thus  the  Lutheran  Church  fell  heir  to  the 
inheritance  of  the  ages,  while  others  disdainfully  cast 
aside  their  spiritual  patrimony,  and  starting  de  novo 
entered  upon  their  career  with  a  poverty  of  institutions 
in  striking  contrast  with  the  treasures  which  the  Luth- 
erans preserved  and  purified  and  adapted  to  the  needs 
of  the  age. 

The  scholastic  dev^elopment  of  doctrine  so  far  as 
it  did  not  turn  away  from  the  Gospel,  the  incompar- 
able store  of  chants  and  creeds  and  prayers  and  hymns 
which  the  faith  and  piety  of  centuries  had  accumulated, 
eliminating  only  what  was  impure,  even  the  polity  which 
had  served  the  church  so  well  for  more  than  a  thousand 
years ;  all  these  the  Lutheran  Church  sought  to  pre- 
serve and  retain  as  far  as  practicable.  And  what  she 
preserved  she  has  transmitted  and  mediated  to  others. 
A  noble  and  unselfish  elder  brother,  the  Lutheran 
Church  faithfully  guarded  the  patrimonial  estate,  which 
other   children   prodigally  despised,   and   in   course   of 


190  THE   HIGHER   ROCK. 

time  each  of  these  by  turns  were  glad  to  receive  the 
inheritance  which  had  been  so  faithfully  and  sacredly 
preserved  for  them. 

Of  their  Confession  the  Lutherans  maintained  that 
it  was  simply  the  faith  of  the  Scriptures  and  of  "the 
universal  Christian  Church,"  and  that  Confession  it  is 
well  known  became  the  keynote  of  all  the  other  evan- 
gelical confessions.  That  of  the  Church  of  England 
is  in  large  part  almost  a  literal  transcript  of  it. 

Of  their  Liturgy  they  could  say  this  is  substan- 
tially nothing  more  than  "the  outline  and  structure  of 
the  Service  of  the  Western  Church  for  a  thousand 
years."  The  whole  series  of  Introits,  Collects,  Epistles 
and  Gospels,  which  constitute  the  Lutheran  Service, 
"was  finally  completed  after  some  centuries  of  growth, 
in  the  reign  and  domain  of  Charlemagne,"  and  con- 
tinued in  force  in  Germany  until  the  Reformation.  Let 
any  one  turn  to  the  first  reformation  liturgy  of  the 
Church  of  England  and  he  will  find  an  almost  perfect 
agreement  between  that  and  the  service  rescued  and 
revised  from  the  ancient  church  by  the  Reformers  of 
Germany,  a  service  which  the  latter  had  used  in  many 
states  and  cities  continuously  for  more  than  twenty 
years,  before  the  Anglican  Church  with  Lutheran 
assistance  proceeded  with  the  revision  of  its  forms  of 
worship  and  issued  the  First  Prayer  Book  of  Edward 
VL 

The  religious  teaching  and  life  cannot  be  severed 
from  civil  government  and  civic  life.  The  Gospel 
leavens  the  whole  social  mass.  The  Lutherans  have 
been  censured  for  their  failure  to  attack  monarchy  and 


THE    LUTHERAN    CnVRCII    IN    HISTORY.        19I 

subvert  despotism  in  the  state  when  overthrowing  it 
in  the  church.  But  nowhere  is  the  saving  conserva- 
tism of  Lutheranism  brought  into  clearer  Hght.  Luther 
and  his  colaborers  fearlessly  announced  principles 
which  shook  absolutism  to  its  inmost  centre.  They 
pit)claimed  the  freedom  and  the  dignity  of  the  individ- 
ual and  asserted  the  inalienable  rights  of  man,  but 
instead  of  resorting  to  brute  force  or  invoking  the 
slaughter  of  rulers  for  the  triumph  of  principles,  they 
showed  their  transcendent  faith  in  the  power  of  ideas, 
and  having  enunciated  the  eternal  truths  which  under- 
lie all  civil  liberty,  they  were  content  to  leave  their 
development  to  their  own  inherent  and  persistent 
energy. 

In  this  way  they  contributed  immeasurably  more 
to  the  permanent  establishment  of  free  government  than 
if  by  impatience  they  had  overturned  the  existing  order, 
and  by  a  sweeping  but  temporary  revolution  had  started 
the  wheels  of  reaction  and  arrested  the  normal  prog- 
ress of  civilization.  The  substance  of  freedom  is  of 
greater  worth  than  its  forms.  We  have  an  example  of 
the  contrast  between  England  and  France.  The  for- 
mer still  retaining  monarchy,  enjoys  a  larger  measure 
of  political  liberty  than  any  other  country  of  Europe, 
the  latter,  having  again  and  again  abolished  monarchy, 
still  fails  to  breathe  the  air  of  a  true  democracy. 

Her  Conservatism  has  made  the  Lutheran  Church 
the  bulwark  of  civil  liberty.  She  liberated  thought, 
she  broke  the  spell  of  Rome,  she  wrought  on  the  con- 
science of  rulers  in  behalf  of  the  rights  and  the  needs 
of  their  subjects,  she  established  popular  education,  she 


192  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

inculcated  individual  responsibility,  she  taught  men 
that  they  were  God's  children,  she  inspired  them  to 
appeal  from  the  earthly  oppressor  to  the  heavenly 
avenger,  and  in  this  manner  she  so  mightily  armed 
their  subjects  that  sovereigns,  however  absolute  their 
forms  of  power,  knew  the  power  of  their  people  and 
realized  that  they  had  to  reckon  not  only  with  them 
but  with  One  whose  authority  was  feared  more  than 
their  own.  The  Lutheran  Church  thus  stands  in  his- 
tory as  the  upholder  and  guardian  of  civil  order,  and 
at  the  same  time  as  the  inspirer  and  generator  of  those 
political  ideas  which  secure  human  rights  under  every 
form  of  civil  polity. 

Our  theme  is  so  vast  that  a  full  exploration  of  it 
is  impracticable  within  the  limits  allowed.  Time  per- 
mits only  the  sketching  of  a  few  outlines. 

The  Lutheran  Church  took  the  lead  in  heathen 
missions.  Though  the  principal  Lutheran  countries 
were  not  given  to  maritime  pursuits  and  had  no  colo- 
nies, yet  through  the  intervention  of  the  Danish  gov- 
ernment two  Lutheran  missionaries,  Ziegenbalg  and 
Pliitschau,  proceeded  to  India  in  the  year  1704,  ante- 
dating by  one  hundred  years  the  missionary  movements 
of  other  Protestant  communions,  excepting  only  the 
Moravians.  It  was  from  Lutheran  Halle  that  "mis- 
sionary zeal  spread  over  other  countries  and  other  de- 
nominations." 

She  was  the  first  to  colonize  this  country  in  the 
interests  of  missions.  While  others  came  hither  in 
quest  of  refuge  from  oppression  and  persecution,  or 
in   pursuit  of  wealth,   or   with   ambitious  projects  of 


THE    LUTHERAN    CHURCH    IX    HISTORY.         I93 

founding  great  empires,  the  primary  consideration 
which  impelled  the  great  Lutheran  king  of  Sweden, 
Gustavus  Adolphus,  to  establish  a  colony  beyond  the 
seas  was  the  planting  of  the  Christian  religion  among 
the  wild  inhabitants  of  the  country.  It  was  primarily 
a  missionary  movement. 

And  in  connection  with  this  let  it  be  added  that 
these  same  Lutherans  were  the  first  to  bring  to  this 
western  wilderness  those  ideas  and  principles  of  relig- 
ious tolerance  which  are  at  the  foundation  of  our  col- 
ossal national  expansion  and  power.  The  instructions 
given  to  the  Swedish  Governor,  bearing  date  Stock- 
holm, August  15,  1642,  declare:  "So  far  as  relates  to 
the  Holland  colonists  that  live  and  settle  under  the 
government  of  her  Royal  Majesty  and  the  Swedish 
crown,  the  governor  shall  not  disturb  them  in  the  indul- 
gence granted  them  as  to  the  exercise  of  the  Reformed 
religion."  As  these  instructions  were  faithfully  car- 
ried out  we  see  on  the  banks  of  the  Delaware  a  some- 
what different  picture  from  that  which  meets  us  on 
the  Hudson,  where  the  Dutch  Calvinists  were  fining 
and  imprisoning  Lutherans  who  desired  to  worship 
God  according  to  their  own  faith,  or  that  other  one, 
in  Massachusetts,  so  much  better  known,  where  the 
Puritan  Fathers  were  engaged  in  hanging  and  whip- 
ping Quakers  and  banishing  Baptists  from  the  colony. 

The  first  to  proclaim  and  enact  religious  tolerance, 
the  Lutherans  have  at  the  same  time  the  singular  honor 
of  being  the  first  Protestants  in  America,  as  well  as  in 
Europe,  to  suffer  religious  persecution.  Not  only  were 
cruel  penalties  inflicted  upon  them  on  Manhattan  Island 

13 


194  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

because  their  consciences  refused  to  confess  Calvin- 
istic  tenets  in  connection  with  the  baptism  of  iheir 
infants,  but  the  first  Christian  blood  which  sta'ned  this 
virgin  soil  was  Lutheran  blood,  for  a  century  before, 
on  the  coast  of  Florida,  a  French  colony  was  ma.ss  .cred 
because  of  the  Lutheran  faith  attributed  by  the  inhu- 
man Spaniards. 

We  point  with  just  pride  to  the  Lutheran  Church 
as  the  church  of  culture.  She  is  called  the  church  of 
theologians  by  writers  in  other  communions,  which  do 
not  pretend  to  rival  her  incomparable  theological  lit- 
erature. Her  great  doctrinal  systems  setting  forth  in 
articulate  structures  the  fullness  and  clearness  of  Scrip- 
tural doctrine  is  paralleled  only  by  the  vastness  of  her 
devotional  literature,  her  myriads  of  hymns  and  chorals, 
and  her  manuals  of  piety,  showing  that  a  richness  of 
spiritual  life  is  the  counterpart  of  the  richness  of  doc- 
trinal development.  Take  away  the  hymns  of  Watts 
and  Wesley  from  the  English  anthology  and  the  sacred 
poets  of  England  and  America  number  barely  a  score, 
whereas  Germany  alone  has  a  hymnology  worthy  of 
the  sanctuary  which  would  fill  many  shelves  of  a 
library. 

Popular  education  was  referred  to  above.  Ever 
since  the  famous  declaration  of  Luther,  "If  we  must 
annually  expend  large  sums  on  muskets,  roads,  bridges, 
dams,  and  the  like,  in  order  that  the  city  may  have 
temporal  peace  and  comfort,  why  should  we  not  apply 
as  much  to  our  poor  neglected  youth,  in  order  that  they 
may  have  a  skillful  schoolmaster  or  two,"  the  Lutheran 
Church  has  on  this  great  subject  held  the  lead.     The 


THE    LUTHERAN   CHURCH    IN    HISTORY.        1 95 

school  systems  of  Germany  have  no  equal,  and  it  is 
well  known  that  Lutheran  lands  have  no  illiterates. 
If  was  a  surprising  and  a  severe  lesson  for  Americans 
to  learn  that  so  far  from  needing  the  compulsion  of 
police  force  to  give  their  children  an  education,  the 
Lutherans  who  have  come  hither  have  a  system  of 
their  own  so  thorough  and  withal  so  comprehensive 
that  under  no  circumstances  will  they  surrender  it  for 
an  educational  system  which  lacks  the  first  element  of 
a  true  education,  instruction  in  truth  and  righteousness. 
Their  coming  to  these  shores  may  yield  among  other 
things  some  happy  results  if  Americans  are  willing 
to  copy  from  a  system  which  approaches  perfection 
more  nearly  than  their  own. 

No  picture  of  Lutheranism  is  complete  which  over- 
looks the  type  of  its  piety  and  the  strength  of  its  moral- 
ity.    Let  a  paragraph  from  Kurtz  suffice : 

"The  Christian  life  of  the  people  in  the  Lutheran 
Church  combined  deep,  penitential  earnestness  and  a 
joyfully  confident  consciousness  of  justification  by  faith 
with  the  most  nobly  steadfast  cheerfulness  and  hearti- 
ness natural  to  the  German  citizen.  Faithful  atten- 
tion to  the  spiritual  interests  of  their  people,  vigorous 
ethical  preaching,  and  zealous  efforts  to  promote  the 
instruction  of  the  young  on  the  part  of  their  pastors, 
created  among  them  a  healthy  and  hearty  fear  of  God, 
*  *  *  a  thorough  and  genuine  attachment  to  the 
church,  strict  morality  in  domestic  life,  and  loyal  sub- 
mission to  civil  authority." 

Finally  the  Lutheran  Church  has  demonstrated  her 
indestructible  character.     She  has  had  to  battle  in  turn 


196  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

with  every  foe.  She  has  found  the  most  powerful 
enemies  of  her  Hfe  arising  within  her  own  bosom,  as 
well  as  sustained  the  most  terrible  assaults  from 
without,  but  she  stands  like  a  rock  in  the  sea  against 
which  have  beaten  the  waves  and  storms  of  unnum- 
bered ages. 

When  but  emerging  from  the  chaos  and  darkness 
in  which  was  born  her  distinctive  life  the  Lutheran 
Church  was  confronted  with  the  most  specious  form 
of  fanaticism.  Co-workers  with  Luther  like  Carlstadt 
not  only  plunged  into  revolutionary  methods  and  em- 
ployed carnal  weapons,  but  claimed  such  immediate 
communion  with  God  and  such  direct  access  to  super- 
human resources  as  rendered  unnecessary  the  divinely 
appointed  means  of  grace  and  poured  contempt  even 
upon  the  written  word  of  God. 

But  tlie  Church  survived  the  desperate  struggle. 
Desolated  by  a  war  which  continued  its  ravages  during 
the  life  of  a  generation,  the  Church  in  Germany  sunk 
into  a  formalism  which  history  represents  as  a  dreary 
winter  succeeding  to  the  Pentecostal  springtime  of 
the  Reformers,  but  from  this,  too,  she  emerged  with  a 
fullness  and  potency  of  life  that  not  only  sent  its  warm 
currents  through  every  artery  of  its  own  organism,  but 
became  the  means  of  England's  regeneration  and  gave 
the  impulse  to  the  founding  of  Methodism. 

Fettered  by  the  authority  of  the  state,  the  poison 
of  rationalism  was  allowed  to  enter  her  universities 
and  passed  thence  into  her  pulpits  and  threatened  to 
consume  her  people,  but  such  was  the  vitality  of  their 
faith  and  such  was  the  power  of  the  antidote  provided 


THE    LUTHERAN   CHURCH    IN    HISTORY.        1 97 

in  her  hymns  and  other  forms  of  worship,  that  she  was 
able  to  come  forth  triumphant  also  from  this  onslaught. 
The  Lutheran  Church  of  history  is  a  church  sing- 
ing 

"Ein  feste  Burg  ist  unser  Gott." 

She  is  founded  upon  God's  w^ord.     God  is  in  the  midst 
of  her.     She  cannot  be  moved.     She  abides  forever. 


III.     THE  EARLIEST  LUTHERAN  CHURCHES. 

When  Martin  Luther  witnessed  his  noble  confes- 
sion at  Worms,  there  was  present  in  that  city  a  ver- 
itable American  Indian,  a  mute  man  of  Macedonia, 
signaling  the  opening  of  a  new  continent  for  the  home 
of  the  new  religion. 

It  was  a  wonderful  coincidence :  the  exploration  of 
a  new  world  and  the  recovery  of  a  pure  faith  which 
was  waiting  to  spread  like  the  rays  of  the  sun  over  the 
habitable  globe.  Neither  the  continent  nor  the  doc- 
trine of  Luther  was  really  new,  but  the  one  like  the 
other  was  a  fresh  discovery,  a  new  revelation  of  what 
had  existed  ages  before. 

But  Providence  has  its  cross-purposes,  and  so  it 
happened  that  the  very  nation  which  made  the  discov- 
ery of  America  and  founded  its  first  settlements,  was 
the  power  most  hostile  to  the  rediscovered  gospel  in 
Europe,  and  therefore  least  inclined  to  allow  to  it  a 
foothold  on  these  shores.  Consequently  the  very  first 
appearance  of  Protestants  on  this  continent  was  the  sig- 
nal for  a  horrible  massacre,  and  the  first  European 
blood  which  stained  the  virgin  soil  of  what  is  now  our 
country  was  the  blood  of  a  colony  suspected  of  Luther- 
anism. 

More  than  half  a  century  before  the  landing  of 
the  Mayflower,  and  more  than  a  generation  before  the 
founding   of   Jamestown   by   Captain   John    Smith,    a 

(198) 


THE    EARLIEST    LUTHERAN   CHURCHES.        1 99 

colony  of  French  Hug-ueiiots  in  1565  settled  at  Fort 
Carolina,  near  Matanzas  Inlet,  in  Florida,  hoping  to 
enjoy  there  undisturbed  the  solace  and  joy  of  their 
faith.  Lured  into  fatal  security  by  the  perfidious  Span- 
ish officers,  who  promised  them  protection,  142  men, 
women  and  children  were  horril)ly  butchered  and  the 
entire  colony  was  wiped  out.  I  know  of  the  claim  that 
these  French  Protestants  were  Calvinists,  not  Luther- 
ans, but  no  one  questions  that  they  were  massacred 
because  they  were  taken  for  Lutherans,  for  their  mur- 
derers posted  a  placard  declaring  that  their  victims 
were  slaughtered  not  because  they  were  Frenchmen 
but  because  they  were  Lutherans. 

But  the  God  of  Luther  did  not  intend  that  America 
should  become  a  continental  Cuba.  Providence  did 
not  allot  this  grand  domain  to  Roman  Catholic  Spain 
— although  the  Pope  did  make  such  a  disposal  of  it. 
If  anything  in  the  divine  ordering  of  terrestrial  affairs 
is  clear,  it  is  that  this  part  of  the  globe  was  designed 
as  a  refuge  for  those  who  were  resolved  on  freedom 
from  religious  and  political  tyranny.  And  under  the 
guidance  of  an  unseen  Hand  those  who  suffered  most 
from  Spanish  oppression  were  goaded  to  the  organ- 
ization of  trading  companies  and  the  founding  of  col- 
onies destined  to  forestall  the  dominion  of  Spain  in 
her  own  discoveries. 

It  was  the  intolerable  cruelty  of  Philip  II.  and  his 
minions  which  converted  the  Dutch  into  a  mighty 
republic  and  an  unrivaled  sea  power,  supplied  with  the 
means  of  transporting  their  enterprising  colonists  to 
the  very  lands  once  claimed  as  exclusive  Spanish  pos- 


200  THE   HIGHER    ROCK. 

sessions.  And  so  it  came  about  that  the  very  first 
Lutheran  congregation  in  America  was  a  company  of 
Swedes  who  had  been  guided  hither  under  influences 
which  the  Spaniards  themselves  had  developed.  The 
Spaniards  stirred  up  the  Dutch,  and  the  Dutch  incited 
the  Swedes  to  enter  upon  American  colonization. 

At  the  confluence  of  the  Brandywine  with  Chris- 
tiana creek,  two  miles  from  the  Delaware,  on  a  spot 
comprised  in  the  limits  of  Wilmington,  within  the 
walls  of  a  military  fort,  was  founded  in  1638  the  first 
Evangelical  Lutheran  church  of  this  country.  The 
congregation  was  not  large,  since  the  whole  colony 
consisted  of  but  twenty-five,  but  their  pastor,  Reorus 
Torkillus,  had  accompanied  them  from  Sweden  over 
the  sea,  and  in  a  few  years  successive  expeditions 
greatly  increased  their  numbers.  Still,  after  the  havoc 
of  a  deadly  contagion,  the  whole  settlement  numbered 
in  1644  less  than  three  hundred  souls.  Since  many  of 
these  were  bachelors,  a  petition  was  sent  to  the  home 
country  for  a  supply  of  maidens  to  be  their  companions 
and  helpmeets. 

A  second  Swedish  church  was  erected — and  of 
course  a  second  congregation  founded — under  Liei  ten- 
ant Colonel  Printz  near  Tinicum  Island,  fifteen  miles 
further  up  the  Delaware,  and  about  nine  miles  south- 
west of  Philadelphia.  This  was  a  wooden  frame  struc- 
ture, dedicated  by  Campanius  in  1646,  and  was  used 
for  half  a  century  as  a  place  of  worship. 

While  there  was  a  frequent  change  of  pastors 
because  of  the  recall  of  the  ministers  by  the  State 
Church  of  Sweden,  and  while  thev  were  sometimes  left 


THE    EARLIEST    LUTHERAN   CHURCHES.        20I 

as  sheep  without  a  shepherd,  we  read  of  one  man,  Rev. 
Lars  Lock,  who  served  both  these  congregations  for  a 
period  of  twenty-two  years.  In  the  midst  of  his  labors 
and  hardships  a  rascally  fellow-countryman  stole  from 
him  his  wife.  The  deserted  pastor  soon  felt  the  need 
of  another  spouse,  and  having  obtained  a  legal  divorce, 
he  was  not  long  in  finding  one.  But  as  there  was  no 
other  clergyman  within  one  hundred  miles  (in  1662) 
he  performed  the  marriage  ceremony  himself,  and  for 
this  the  government  proceeded  against  him,  suspended 
him  from  office,  declared  his  marriage  invalid,  and 
threatened  him  with  further  penalties.  But  as  he  pro- 
tested that  he  intended  no  violation  of  law,  and  prom- 
ised never  to  do  so  again,  he  was  not  further  disturbed. 

While  the  Swedes  were  the  first  to  have  organized 
congregations,  there  were  Dutch  Lutherans  in  America 
for  ten  or  more  years  before  the  Swedes.  They  came 
intermingled  with  the  earliest  settlers  on  Manhattan 
Island.  Although  the  Lutherans  were  allowed  their 
own  worship  in  Holland,  the  Reformed  Church  was  the 
State  Church ;  and  when  the  West  India  Company  pro- 
vided in  their  charter  for  the  Christian  religion  and 
pious  preachers  in  their  colonies,  they  understood  by 
these  terms  the  decrees  of  the  Synod  of  Dort  and  the 
champions  of  extreme  Calvinism.  In  the  governor's 
oath  was  included  a  promise  to  promote  the  Reformed 
religion,  and  when  it  came  to  Stuyvesmt's  turn  to  be 
director-general  he  was  minded  to  be  as  good  as  his 
oath. 

As  long  as  the  Lutherans  were  content  to  attend 
Reformed  worship,  and  to  have  only  their  household 


202  THE   HIGHER   ROCK. 

devotions  according  to  their  own  faith,  they  were  un- 
molested and  looked  upon  as  good  citizens,  but  when 
their  increasing  numbers  enabled  them  to  form  a  con- 
gregation, as  early  as  1649,  and  when  in  1653  they 
preferred  a  request  to  have  their  own  pastor,  this  was 
promptly  and  peremptorily  refused. 

Here  a  long,  exasperating  chapter  could  be  given : 
The  undaunted,  indefatigable  determination  of  the 
Lutherans  to  have  their  own  worship,  their  appeal  to 
the  mother  country,  their  recourse  to  the  intercession 
of  their  Lutheran  friends  at  home,  the  fierce  opposition 
of  the  local  Calvinistic  "dominies,"  who  warned  the 
government  of  the  dangers  of  having  a  Lutheran 
church  and  Lutheran  preachers  in  this  country !  How 
the  home  authorities  and  West  India  Company  sus- 
tained Stuyvesant,  and  warned  him  never  again  to  en- 
tertain or  to  transmit  such  a  request,  but  to  use  gentle 
and  moderate  methods  to  lure  the  Lutherans  into  the 
Reformed  fold !  How  by  public  posters  over  the  town 
Lutheran  worship,  even  reading  and  singing,  was 
strictly  prohibited  on  pain  of  imprisonment !  How  the 
Directors  in  Amsterdam  had  a  spasm  of  liberality  and 
agreed  that  the  Lutherans  might  have  free  worship  in 
their  homes !  How  they  shifted  and  shuffled,  promised 
and  prevaricated,  now  practicing  intolerance  that  would 
have  shamed  the  papacy,  now  concerned  about  the 
serious  detriment  this  wrought  in  the  colony ! 

The  years  went,  and  the  years  came,  but  the  help- 
less Lutherans  were  not  permitted  to  have  a  pastor 
who   would   preach   their  precious   doctrines,   conduct 


THE    EARLIEST    LUTHERAN   CHURCHES.        203 

worship  according  to  their  order,  and  administer  the 
Sacraments  agreeably  to  their  conscience. 

The  Directors  were  at  one  time  in(hiced  to  prom- 
ise that  Lutheranism  should  l>e  tolerated  in  the  New 
Netherlands,  and  our  suffering  people  were  rejoiced 
at  the  prospect  of  soon  having  a  duly  qualified  shep- 
herd and  teacher,  but  Stuyvesant  and  his  parsons  were 
sure  that  this  must  be  a  mistake ;  they  refused  to  rec- 
ognize the  reported  action  until  they  had  received  a 
more  specific  interpretation  of  it,  and  the  edicts  against 
Lutheran  conventicles  continued  in  force.  When  the 
official  interpretation  came,  it  was  to  the  effect  that 
Lutheran  family  worship  was  not  to  be  molested.  At 
one  time  this  had  been  forbidden. 

The  Lutherans  in  Amsterdam  had,  however,  given 
a  more  liberal  interpretation  to  the  decision  of  the  Di- 
rectory, and  had  actually  sent  over  in  1657  a  pastor 
by  the  name  of  Goetwater,  whose  arrival  at  Manhattan 
filled  the  faithful  Lutheran  flock  with  joy  but  the  gov- 
ernor and  his  parsons  with  consternation  ard  dismay. 
Before  he  could  present  himself  to  the  church  he  came 
to  serve,  Goetwater  was  dragged  before  the  authorities 
like  an  escaped  convict.  The  letter  which  contained 
his  credentials  to  the  congregation  he  was  forbidden  to 
deliver  until  he  received  further  orders,  and  a  public 
placard  prohibited  him  from  every  exercise  of  his  office 
In  fact,  there  was  an  ordinance  in  force  which  imposed 
a  fine  of  100  Flemish  pounds  on  anyone  holding  an 
assembly  for  worship,  and  engaging  in  prayer,  praise 
or  reading,  and  the  crime  for  attending  such  a  service 
was  fixed  at  twenty-five  pounds. 


204  THE   HIGHER    ROCK. 

The  parsons  demanded  Goetwater's  return  by  the 
same  ship  that  brought  him.  They  recognized  now 
that  their  fellow  Christians,  "with  a  hard  Lutheran 
pate,"  were  bent  upon  founding  a  Lutheran  church  in 
spite  of  the  official  prohibition.  They  promptly  sent 
their  protest  to  the  home  government,  "the  snake  was 
already  in  their  bosom,"  how  shall  they  get  rid  of  it? 
It  is  a  satisfaction  to  know  that  they  had  a  deal  of 
trouble  in  getting  rid  of  this  Lutheran  "snake."  Again 
and  again  the  doughty  governor  ordered  Goetwater  to 
quit  the  country,  to  embark  in  the  first  ship,  and  threat- 
ened him  with  punishment  if  he  were  found  in  the 
town  or  province  after  the  departure  of  the  next  ves- 
sel, and  yet  he  managed  not  to  get  away,  and  always 
had  an  excuse  by  which  he  escaped  Stuyvesant's  ven- 
geance for  at  least  a  year  and  a  half,  although  ship 
sailed  after  ship.  A  few  years  later,  1662,  all  preach- 
ing except  that  of  the  Reformed,  was  once  more  pro- 
hibited, "in  houses,  barns,  ships,  forests  or  fields,  under 
penalty  of  fifty  florins  for  the  first  ofifense  for  every 
man,  woman  or  child  participating,"  the  penalty  to  be 
doubled  for  the  second  offense,  and  quadrupled  for 
the  third  offense,  with  whatever  severity  seemed  good 
to  the  governor.  And  yet  the  Lutherans,  like  the 
Israelites  in  Egypt,  were  not  exterminated,  they  did 
not  surrender  their  faith,  they  did  not  give  up  their 
worship,  though  we  are  not  informed  whether  the  pre- 
scribed fines  were  collected. 

A  second  congregation  of  Dutch  Lutherans  is  met 
with  in  Albany  in  1656,  perhaps  as  early  as  1650,  but 
there  also  the  presence  of  Lutherans  was  regarded  as 


THE    EARLIEST    LUTHERAN   CHURCHES.        205 

an  encroachment  of  heretical  spirits,  and  placards  were 
posted  by  the  \'ice-Director.  "against  certain  persons 
of  the  Lutheran  sect/' 

The  right  to  have  Lutheran  worship  was  accord- 
ingly denied  by  the  powers  until  those  powers  them- 
selves were  overthrown,  and  all  that  region  of  America 
passed  under  the  flag  of  England,  which  is  everxwhere 
the  symbol  of  liberty,  of  justice,  and  of  equal  rights. 
Scarcely  had  Colonel  XicoUs.  the  first  English  gov- 
ernor, entered  upon  his  office,  when  the  Lutherans 
presented  their  petition  for  freedom  of  worship  and 
permission  to  have  a  pastor,  a  petition  which  was 
promptly  guaranteed. 

Alas !  the  first  pastor  to  come  proved  a  disap- 
pointment and  a  disgrace.  The  g-overnment  was  soon 
constrained  to  inhibit  his  ministrations  at  Albany,  where 
on  his  first  visit,  1669.  he  attempted  to  impose  a  fine 
of  one  thousand  dollars  for  a  member  who  failed  to 
employ  him  to  perform  his  marriage  ceremony.  In 
New  York  the  congregation  proceeded  under  his  pas- 
torate to  erect  a  church,  seeking  financial  assistance 
from  their  Swedish  brethren  on  the  Delaware,  but  here, 
too,  the  government  had  to  interfere,  and  the  congre- 
gation was  as  much  relieved  by  the  departure  of  their 
pastor,  as  they  had  been  rejoiced  over  his  arrival.  But 
before  he  finally  withdrew,  1670,  he  installed  as  pastor 
one  who  had  unexpectedly  arrived  on  the  scene,  who 
appears  in  every  way  to  have  been  adapted  to  the  work 
of  caring  for  the  sheep  in  the  wilderness,  a  winning, 
kindly,  considerate  man,  a  most  excellent  preacher  and 
pastor.     I  refer  to  Arenzius,  who  for  a  period  of  twenty 


206  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

years  served  the  congregations  at  New  York  and 
Albany,  spending  his  summers  at  the  former  place,  his 
winters  at  the  latter,  receiving  a  fixed  salary  besides 
house  rent  and  firewood. 

Harmony  and  prosperity  appear  to  have  attended 
his  ministrations,  excepting  that  at  Albany  the  Re- 
formed grave-digger,  or  undertaker,  considered  himself 
the  grave-digger  of  the  town,  with  the  exclusive  right 
to  all  dead  bodies  and  the  resultant  fees,  and  he  con- 
sequently objected  to  the  Lutherans  having  one  of  their 
own  number  for  this  purpose,  as  an  intrusion  on  his 
rights  and  his  receipts. 

The  German  Lutherans  from  whom  we  have 
sprung  directly  were  the  last  to  arrive  on  our  shores, 
and  we  have  no  trace  of  a  German  organization  before 
the  eighteenth  century.  When  our  ancestors  first  came 
they  came  in  poverty,  for  the  most  part  fugitives  and 
exiles  from  the  Palatinate,  which  the  French  had  turned 
into  a  desert. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century,  ad 
in  the  early  years  of  the  eighteenth,  Lutherans  were 
scattered  over  the  province  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
Lutheran  services  were  held  at  Germantown  and  cse- 
where,  but  we  have  no  trace  of  an  organization  earlier 
than  that  at  Falckner's  Swamp,  (New  Hannover), 
where  Daniel  Falckner,  the  agent  of  a  land  company, 
founded  a  congregation  probably  as  early  as  the  year 
1703.  We  have  no  records  of  the  congregation  prior 
to  the  pastorate  of  Gerhard  Henkle,  who  served  there 
from  1717.  Under  his  ministry  the  congregation  in- 
creased and  flourished,  and  in   17 19  a  wealthy  land- 


THE    EARLIEST   LUTHERAN   CHURCHES.       207 

owner  donated  for  the  uses  of  the  congregation  fifty 
acres  of  land.  Taking  possession  of  this  property,  the 
congregation  built  a  new  and  larger  church  and  along- 
side of  it  a  school-house,  the  first  German  Lutheran 
church  in  this  country  setting  thus  an  example  to  all 
its  descendants  for  the  promotion  of  education  side  by 
side  with  godliness. 

Early  in  that  century  German  Lutherans  fleeing 
from  the  devastated  Palatinate,  streamed  in  large  num- 
bers into  the  province  of  New  York.  One  colony 
came  across  the  Atlantic  in  the  immediate  charge  of  a 
pastor,  Joshua  Von  Kockerthal,  and  under  the  kindly 
protection  of  the  English  government,  landing  New 
Year's  day  1709.  The  governor,  Lord  Lovelace,  cared 
for  them  during  the  winter  and  then  located  them  in 
the  spring  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Hudson  close  to 
Newburg.  Queen  Anna  had  allotted  to  every  man. 
woman  and  child  fifty  acres  of  land  and  donated  five 
hundred  acres  for  a  perpetual  glebe,  a  bounty  of  which 
they  were  cruelly  robbed,  after  they  had  brought  it 
under  cultivation  and  erected  on  it  a  church  building. 

In  the  following  year  (1710)  3,cxx)  more  of  the 
Palatine  exiles  reached  New  York  and  were  settled 
up  the  Hudson,  in  the  neighborhood  of  East  Camp 
and  West  Camp.  The  exact  location  of  the  first  church 
they  erected  is  not  known,  but  before  the  winter  was 
on  them  both  a  church  and  a  school-house  had  been 
provided. 

These  Lutheran  pioneers  possessed  characteristics 
which  commend  them  strongly  for  imitation  to  their 
ecclesiastical  descendants : 


208  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

1st.     They  were  models  of  true  piety. 

To  be  allowed  by  law  worship  at  their  own  fire- 
side, was  to  them  no  meaningless  concession.  The  ob- 
servance of  family  devotions  they  claimed  as  an  inalien- 
able privilege,  a  right  which  nothing  could  move  them 
to  surrender.  Think  of  settlers  in  the  wilderness  hav- 
ing like  the  Swedes,  public  worship  and  a  sermon  not 
only  on  all  Sundays,  Festivals  and  Apostles'  Days,  but 
also  on  every  Wednesday  and  Friday,  and  even  hold- 
ing a  meeting  for  prayer  morning  and  evening  every 
day  of  the  week !  Where  a  pastor  could  not  be  pres- 
ent the  governor  appointed  lay-readers.  Church  dis- 
cipline and  the  training  of  the  young  were  embraced 
in  their  original  instructions. 

2d.     Their  piety  was  reflected  in  their  morals. 

They  were  a  peaceful,  industrious,  orderly,  law- 
abiding  people.  They  recognized  the  Indians  as  broth- 
ers and  purchased  the  soil  from  them  as  its  true  own- 
ers. William  Penn  on  his  arrival  was  delighted  with 
the  Swedes,  and  formally  commended  them  as  a 
"proper  people,"  with  "fine  children,"  and  young  men 
exceptionally  "sober  and  industrious,"  having  withal 
an  unassailable  reputation  for  honesty. 

3d.     They  were  devoted  to  their  church. 

Pious  people  usually  are.  Their  enjoyment  of  the 
grace  of  God  endears  to  them  the  fountains  whence 
they  derive  it.  How  easily  those  in  the  New  Nether- 
lands could  have  escaped  persecution  and  avoided  all 
their  troubles,  if  their  conscience  could  have  accommo- 
dated itself  to  the  Calvinistic  form  of  Baptism,  if  their 
spiritual    hunger   could   have   been    satisfied    with    the 


THE    EARLIEST    LUTHERAN   CHURCHES.       209 

Avorship  of  the  sermons  of  their  Reformed  brethren  ! 
Such  a  form  of  Baptism,  however,  compromised  their 
faith,  and  Calvinistic  worship  did  not  meet  their  spirit- 
ual wants.  The  authorities  were  charged  to  use  mild 
measures  to  woo  them  over.  But  a  Lutheran  heart 
and  a  Lutheran  conscience  craved  the  doctrines  and 
rites  in  which  they  had  been  reared.  And  the  Swedes 
when  they  had  to  surrender  to  the  Dutch  authorities 
and  lost  all  their  civil  rights  in  1655,  managed  to  have 
inserted  in  their  capitulation  the  right  to  retain  the 
Augsburg  Confession,  and  to  have  a  pastor  to  instruct 
them  in  its  doctrines.  This  was  in  accordance  with 
the  original  instructions  given  to  Lieutenant  Colonel 
Printz  in  1642,  and  repeated  in  1646,  which  directed 
that  the  colony  should  faithfully  maintain  the  church 
life  of  the  Fatherland,  should  guard  against  Calvinistic 
leaven,  and  that  divine  services  be  held  in  conformity 
with  the  unaltered  Augsburg  Confession. 

Read  the  first  Lutheran  book  published  in  Amer- 
ica, by  Pastor  Justus  Falckner.  What  a  clear  Luth- 
eran ring  it  has,  the  author  in  the  preface  confessing 
the  Symbols  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  the  confession  of 
his  fathers,  "which  confession  and  faith  by  the  grace 
•of  God  and  conviction  wrought  by  His  word  and  Spirit 
also  dwell  in  me  and  shall  dwell  to  my  blessed  end." 

4th.     They  had  an  extended  Liturgy. 

The  Swedes  were  instructed  to  hold  to  the  usages 
•of  the  Swedish  Church.  Their  calendar  is  always  that 
of  the  Church  year.  Events  occurred  on  Trinity  Sun- 
day, Second  Advent,  Rogate,  etc.  The  first  Dutch 
preacher  brought  over  the  Liturgy  in  use  by  the  Luth- 

14 


2IO  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

erans  of  Holland.  The  Dutch  Lutherans  had  so  much 
ceremony,  especially  in  connection  with  their  funerals, 
that  the  Reformed  were  unwilling  to  have  them  bury 
their  dead  in  the  public  cemetery.  They  could  not  tol- 
erate the  extensive  ritual  which  the  Lutherans  observed. 
And  when  the  Albany  undertaker  lodged  his  complaint 
with  the  governor  against  the  Lutheran  undertaker,  the 
governor  expressed  his  surprise  that  a  Reformed  fune- 
ral director  could  with  a  good  conscience  officiate  at 
a  Lutheran  funeral,  seeing  that  the  Lutherans  had  so 
many  more  ceremonies  than  the  Reformed,  and  that 
these  ceremonies  were  so  offensive  to  a  Reformd  con- 
science.    The  pastors  always  wore  the  clerical  robe. 

5th.     They  co-operated  with  one  another. 

Although  of  different  nationalities,  these  pioneer 
Lutherans  went  to  each  other's  assistance.  When  the 
Dutch  undertook  to  build  a  house  of  worship  they  re- 
paired to  their  Swedish  brethren  on  the  Delaware  with 
a  subscription  list.  When  they  could  get  no  pastor 
from  Amsterdam,  Rudman  of  Wicaco  on  the  Delaware 
went  to  their  relief.  And  to  anyone  acquainted  with 
the  trials  and  hardships  of  our  German  ancestors  in 
Pennsylvania,  it  must  be  manifest  that  the  immense 
numbers  of  our  church  in  that  Commonwealth  to-day 
must  be  ascribed  in  large  measure  to  the  cordial  sym- 
pathy and  fraternal  co-operation  which  marked  the 
relations  of  the  Swedes  and  the  Germans,  and  finally 
united  them  in  one  ecclesiastical  body,  the  Ministerium 
of  Pennsylvania. 

6th.     They  were  animated  by  the  missionary  spirit. 

The  Swedes  received  special  directions  from  the 


THE    EARLIEST    LUTHERAN   CHURCHES.        211 

home  government  to  deal  kindly  with  "the  poor  wild 
men,"  to  convert  them  to  Christianity,  and  bring  them 
under  civilization  and  good  government.  They  were 
the  first  emigrants  to  settle  here  with  this  task  as  their 
object.  Pastor  Campanius  so  mastered  their  language 
as  to  be  able  to  teach  them  the  C.ospel,  and  to  translate 
for  them  Luther's  Small  Catechism  as  early  as  165 1. 
the  first  book  to  be  translated  into  an  Indian  tongue. 
And  such  an  impression  was  made  upon  the  natives 
by  these  evangelistic  endeavors,  that  they  confessed 
that  the  God  of  the  Swedes  was  as  far  superior  to  their 
God  as  the  cannon  and  guns  of  the  Christians  exceeded 
their  own  bows  and  arrows.  The  facility  with  which 
Penn  was  able  to  enter  into  friendly  relations  with  the 
Indians  was  due  in  large  measure  to  the  Christian  treat- 
ment they  had  enjoyed  from  the  Swedes  for  a  gen- 
eration. 


IV.    THE  LUTHERANS. 

It  was  a  notable  coincidence  that  just  as  Columbus 
%vas  crossing  the  Atlantic  in  quest  of  a  new  world, 
Martin  Luther  was  receiving  instruction  in  the  Ten 
Commandments,  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  the  Apostles' 
Creed.  And  when  the  humble  monk  struck  the  death 
knell  to  ecclesiastical  and  political  tyranny  in  the  never- 
to-be-forgotten  scene  at  Worms,  the  presence  of  an 
embassy  from  the  lately-discovered  continent,  wearing 
costly  silks  and  "vailed  about  the  head  like  a  gypsy 
woman,"  was  a  mute  but  distinct  prophecy  of  the  rela- 
tion which  this  new  domain  was  to  bear  to  the  new 
ideas.  It  would  have  been  in  accordance  with  the 
eternal  fitness  had  the  Columbian  Exposition  been  held 
on  the  fourth  centenary  of  Luther's  birth. 

The  first  European  settlers  on  our  shores  belonged, 
indeed,  to  the  old  faith,  but  they  were  not  permitted 
to  lay  the  foundations  of  this  free  Republic.  It  was 
ordained  that  a  people  brought  forth  in  the  pangs  of 
the  great  religious  revolution  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
whose  religious  convictions  embraced  the  equality  and 
the  brotherhood  of  all  men,  should  establish  here  a 
Republic  destined  to  be  the  bulwark  of  liberty  to  all 
nations. 

The  earliest  Protestant  colonies  did  not  bear  the 
Lutheran  name,  yet  they  are  directly  traceable  to  the 
impulse  of  the  new  ideas  heralded  by  the  Lutheran 
reformers.     The  governments  of  Lutheran  nations  pos- 

(212) 


THE    LUTHERANS.  213 

sessed  at  that  time  meagre  commercial  equipments,  and 
were,  besides,  so  prostrated  by  the  Thirty  Years'  War 
that  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  undertake  any  col- 
onial projects. 

Still,  the  first  appearance  of  Lutherans  in  America 
is  almost  coincident  with  its  first  settlement.  There 
was  a  considerable  sprinkling  of  them  with  the  Dutch 
colony  which,  in  1623,  occupied  Manhattan  Island,  the 
territory  now  comprised  in  the  city  of  New  York. 

A  body  of  Swedish  Lutherans  founded  in  1638  a 
New  Sweden  on  the  banks  of  the  Delaware,  below  the 
site  of  Philadelphia,  purchasing  lands  from  the  Indians, 
teaching  them  the  Gospel,  and  living  on  terms  of  amity 
with  them  for  nearly  fifty  years  prior  to  the  famous 
treaty  of  Willliam  Penn  under  the  Shackamaxon  Elm. 


To  the  Swedes  belongs  the  double  honor  of  being 
the  first  Protestants  to  plant  a  colony  for  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Church  of  God  among  the  heathen,  as  well 
as  the  first  to  advance  and  practice  here  the  principle 
of  religious  tolerance.  The  Governor  received  instruc- 
tions, dated  Stockholm,  August  15,  1642,  not  to  dis- 
turb the  Holland  colonists  "as  to  the  exercise  of  the 
reformed  religion." 

The  trunk  from  which  has  properly  sprung  the 
American  Lutheran  Church  is  the  large  body  of  Ger- 
mans who  poured  into  this  country  in  the  first  quarter 
of  the  eighteenth  century.  Those  along  the  Hudson 
and  Schoharie  suffered  indescribable  hardships,  and, 
like  their  co-religionists   in   Pennsylvania,   who   fared 


214  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

somewhat  better  in  temporal  things,  were  for  many 
years  almost  totally  destitute  of  the  ministrations  of 
the  sanctuary. 

The  founding  and  the  preservation  of  the  Church 
amid  their  terrible  trials  is  an  instance  of  the  marvel- 
ous, if  not  of  the  miraculous.  There  were  in  1735  but 
eight  regular  ministers  to  care  for  a  Lutheran  popula- 
tion scattered  over  the  country  from  the  Mohawk  to 
the  Savannah,  these  clergymen  being  separated  from 
each  other  by  intervals  of  hundreds  of  miles,  with  no 
roads  or  possible  means  of  travel  except  on  horseback 
through  trackless  forests,  and  with  no  protection  against 
the  beasts  of  prey  or  prowling  savages.  Long  before 
this  the  New  England  Congregationalists  had  an  aver- 
age of  more  than  two  ministers  to  a  congregation,  with 
the  advantage  of  settled  communities. 

The  proper  organization  of  these  dispersed  com- 
munities and  their  association  into  one  body  did  not 
take  place  until  after  the  arrival  of  Muhlenberg,  who 
is  honored  as  the  patriarch  of  the  American  Lutheran 
Church,  a  man  who  left  upon  it  the  indelible  impress 
of  his  apostolic  devotion  and  his  administrative 
efficiency,  and  who  was  the  progenitor  of  a  succession 
of  statesmen,  soldiers  and  scholars  that  rank  his  family 
among  the  most  famous  of  the  country. 

The  extraordinary  bloom  which  the  Church  at- 
tained under  his  guidance  was  blighted  by  the  War  for 
Independence.  This  struggle,  following  the  devasta- 
tions of  nine  years'  conflict  between  the  French  and 
English,  and  succeeded  by  the  dissensions  and  general 
distress  into  which  the  country  was  plunged  on  the  con- 


THE    I.UTHERANS.  215 

elusion  of  peace  with  England,  almost  annihilated  the 
Lutheran  Church. 

After  these  trials,  which  she  shared  with  other  and 
stronger  communities,  came  another  and  a  sharper 
ordeal,  one  altogether  her  own.  which  tested  to  the 
last  degree  her  vitality  and  powers  of  endurance.  This 
was  the  surrender  of  the  mother  tongue. 

English  services  had  been  maintained,  yet  the 
ruling  language  continued  to  be  German,  and  the  con- 
flict provoked  by  the  necessity  for  English  in  public 
worship,  which  to  the  Germans  implied  the  surrender 
of  the  most  sacred  treasures  and  traditions  of  their 
race,  was  attended  by  the  most  disastrous  consequences. 

Victory  remained  with  the  language  which  destiny 
has  made  our  national  tongue,  but  the  obstinate  and 
fierce  resistance  to  it  became  the  most  serious  obstruc- 
tion in  the  Church's  path,  lost  multitudes  to  her  fold, 
paralyzed  her  energies,  limited  her  sphere,  cramped 
her  spirit,  and  placed  her  altogether  at  such  disadvan- 
tage to  the  other  Churches  that  even  to  this  day,  after 
bleeding  and  suffering  from  it  for  a  hundred  years, 
she  has  not  recovered  from  this  suicidal  opposition  to 
the  inevitable. 

This  is  peculiarly  true  of  her  interests  in  the  cities 
of  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  where,  had  a  different 
policy  prevailed  in  former  generations,  she  would 
doubtless  this  day  be  the  leading  denomination.  But 
the  most  far-reaching  and  deplorable  result  of  the  con- 
flict was  the  insurmountable  barrier  it  raised  to  the 
establishment  of  schools  for  higher  learning  and  for 
the  training  of  candidates  for  the  sacred  office. 


2l6  THE   HIGHER   ROCK. 

Co-operation  in  such  work  between  the  antago- 
nistic parties  was  out  of  the  question.  Thus,  for  half 
a  century,  all  educational  movements  were  frustrated, 
and  that  Church  which  is  the  parent  of  modern  cul- 
ture as  surely  as  she  is  the  mother  of  Protestantism, 
was  for  a  long  period  left  without  an  educational  insti- 
tution above  the  grade  of  her  parish  schools.  In  spite 
of  overwhelming  odds  some  advance  was  witnessed. 
Worthy  and  distinguished  men  presided  over  the 
Church  in  different  States.  Their  number  presented,, 
indeed,  a  lamentable  disproportion  to  the  extent  of 
the  field ;  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  any  other  denomi- 
nation could  at  the  time  boast  of  a  ministry  that  sur- 
passed them  in  intellectual  attainments,  in  pastoral  apt- 
itude, in  self-sacrificing  devotion,  and  in  the  highest 
qualities  of  pulpit  eloquence. 

The  estimated  strength  of  the  body  in  1820  was 
42,000  communicants,  575  congregations,  and  160  min- 
isters, distributed  in  five  different  organizations,  whose 
boundaries  coincided  pretty  nearly  with  the  States  of 
New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Virginia  and  North 
Carolina.  Their  union  into  one  General  Synod,  though 
but  partially  successful,  forms  an  epoch  from  which 
date  the  permanent  prosperity  and  steady  expansion 
of  the  Church. 

Educational  institutions  were  established,  mission- 
ary activity  assumed  a  measure  of  system,  harmony 
of  teaching  and  co-operation  in  religious  effort  were 
promoted,  the  standard  of  spiritual  life  was  raised,  a 
church  consciousness  was  begotten  and  a  degree  of 
vitality    developed     which,    notwithstanding    the  irre- 


THE    LUTHERANS.  217 

trievable  losses  that  had  thrown  the  Church  far  behind 
her  sister  churches,  has  given  her  an  uninterrupted 
and  a  prodigious  growth. 

In  73  years  the  figures  given  above  have  swelled 
to  a  grand  total  of  5,468  ministers,  9,213  congregations 
and  1,305,319  communicants. 

Intelligent  men  who  have  not  specially  watched 
the  progress  of  different  denominations  have  been  star- 
tled by  the  sudden  emergence  of  a  powerful  community 
whose  presence  had  scarcely  been  noticed,  and  it  is  hard 
even  for  enthusiastic  and  wide-awake  Lutherans  to 
realize  the  enormous  increase  of  their  Church  and  the 
change  which  has  taken  place  in  her  relative  position. 

It  is  not  so  very  long  ago  since  the  general  relig- 
ious statistics  barely  recognized  this  communion,  and 
assigned  it  a  place  among  the  smaller  sects ;  but  it  has 
overtaken  one  after  the  other  of  the  evangelical  b  dies 
until  it  holds  the  fourth  or  possibly  the  third  rank,  being 
outnumbered  only  by  the  Baptists,  Methodists,  and, 
may  be,  the  Presbyterians. 

This  advance  has  been  made  in  the  face  of  over- 
whelming odds.  Her  long  adherence  to  a  foreign 
tongue,  and  her  relative  confinement  to  rural  districts, 
had  kept  the  Church  in  comparative  obscurity  and 
dimmed  her  prestige.  Her  career  in  this  country  had 
been  a  struggle  for  existence. 

The  Lutherans  found  among  the  earliest  colonial 
settlements  were  sporadic  communities,  incapable  of 
a  blended  life  and  growth,  and  their  Church  did  not 
come  to  organic  form  or  reach  the  conditions  of  nor- 
mal development  and  aggressive  movement  until   the 


2l8  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

second  quarter  of  this  century,  when  it  was  not  only  a 
feeble  body  in  every  sense  of  the  word,  Imt  deprived 
by  its  congregational  polity  of  that  efficiency  of  organ- 
ization for  which  there  is  ordinarily  required  the  cen- 
tralization of  power. 

The  Church's  progress  was,  besides,  still  fettered 
not  only  by  the  paralysis  of  inherited  discouragements, 
by  gross  and  persistent  misrepresentations  and  invete- 
rate prejudices,  but  also  by  the  almost  total  loss  of  her 
individuality. 

Her  church  life  had  become  so  much  influenced 
by  the  practices  and  teachings  of  her  more  prosperous 
neighbors  that  her  distinctive  features  seemed  almost 
effaced,  and  she  was  apparently  near  the  point  of  being 
merged  with  churches  of  greater  prominence. 

But  she  has  steadily  overcome  these  hindrances 
to  her  progress,  and  within  the  brief  period  of  seventy- 
three  years  she  has  made  a  change  of  language,  devel- 
oped an  aggressive  organization  of  resources,  recov- 
ered her  distinctive  features,  and  five  times  doubled 
her  membership,  once  every  thirteen  years.  Her  growth 
in  the  last  forty  years  has  hardly  a  parallel  in  our  relig- 
ious history. 

This  hasty  survey  shows  unmistakably  not  only 
that  the  Lutheran  Church  has  a  vitality  which  is  inde- 
structible, but  that  she  holds  life-forces  which  are  des- 
tined to  exert  an  incalculable  influence  in  the  moulding 
of  our  national  life. 

Possessed  of  a  strong  individuality,  standing  in 
many  respects  midway  between  Romanism  and  ultra 
Protestantism,   the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  has 


THE    LUTHERANS.  219 

been  the  subject  of  grievous  misrepresentations  from 
those  on  her  right  as  well  as  those  on  her  left. 

The  logic  of  history  gives  her  pre-eminence  of 
being  the  parent  Evangelical  Church,  and  the  platform 
on  which  she  has  stood  from  the  beginning  declares 
"that  in  doctrines  and  ceremonials  among  us  there  is 
nothing  received  contrary  to  Scripture  or  to  the  Cath- 
olic  (Universal)   Church." 

Others  went  out  from  her,  not  she  from  them. 
The  earliest  Reformers  in  all  countries  were  called 
Lutherans.  And  the  responsibility  for  subsequent  divi- 
sions rests  with  those  who  put  forth,  tenets  distinctive 
from  and  antagonistic  to  the  Mother  Church  of  the 
Reformation. 

The  distinctions  which  separate  Protestant  bodies 
have  been  created  mainly  under  the  plea  that  the  work 
of  the  Lutherans  was  not  sufficiently  radical ;  and  one 
still  hears  the  insinuation  that  Lutheranism,  holding 
the  golden  mean,  is  essentially  nearer  to  Romanism 
than  are  the  other  forms  of  Protestantism. 

This  is  the  case  in  which  the  distance  between  the 
extremes  is  less  than  that  which  intervenes  between 
either  extreme  and  the  centre.  But  apart  from  this, 
two  undeniable  facts  dispose  of  the  above  charq-c.  The 
first  is  that  the  uncompromising  attitude  of  Romanists 
toward  Evangelical  communions  has  been  singularly 
pronounced  and  bitter  toward  the  T.utherans;  the  sec- 
ond is  that,  in  proportion  to  her  vast  numbers  in 
Europe,  the  Lutheran  Church  furnishes  fewer  recruits 
to  the  Church  of  Rome  than  any  other  denomination. 

With  her  marked  and  self-conscious  individuality, 


220  THE   HIGHER   ROCK. 

the  Lutheran  Church  claims  at  the  same  time  to  be  the 
most  catholic  and  comprehensive  of  Protestant  bodies. 
She  neither  denies  the  legitimacy  of  the  ministry  of 
others  nor  questions  the  validity  of  their  Sacraments. 
She  is  hindered  by  no  ecclesiastical  considerations  and 
by  no  syllogisms  concerning  unrevealed  decrees,  from 
teaching  the  freest  grace. 

Wherever  a  sinner  trusts  in  the  mercy  of  God,  she 
holds  that  he  has  met  all  the  conditions  of  salvation. 
And,  while  denying  that  faith  can  exist  without  works, 
her  cardinal  doctrine  is  that  faith  alone  is  the  saving 
factor.  Her  view  of  the  authority  and  sufficiency  of 
the  Scriptures,  of  the  solar  position  of  Christ  in  the 
Christian  system,  and  of  the  efficacy  of  the  Sacraments, 
all  revolve  around  this  pivotal  truth.  Subjectively,  this 
is  the  heart  of  Lutheranism.  Objectively,  its  heart  is 
Jesus  Christ,  the  God-man,  comprising  two  natures 
indissolubly  and  forever  united  in  one  person,  in  whom 
the  human  and  the  Divine  attributes  combine  in  every 
act  and  manifestation. 

The  most  conspicuous  distinction  of  Lutheran  the- 
ology is  the  place  which  Christ  holds  in  it.  Other  sys- 
tems begin  with  the  Bible,  with  the  decrees,  with  the 
Church.  Lutheranism  is  Christo-centric.  In  its  creed, 
its  worship,  and  its  life,  Christ  is  the  all  in  all. 

Starting  from  this  centre,  the  Lutheran  Church 
has  developed,  beyond  any  other,  a  fullness  and  a  rich- 
ness of  Christological  thought,  which  is  the  glory  of 
her  creed  and  the  key  to  her  other  distinctive  features. 

These  distinctive  features  are  generally  embraced 
in  the  term  comprehensiveness.     As  she  comprehends 


THE    LUTHERANS.  221 

both  natures  in  the  one  forever  indissoluble  person  of 
Christ,  so  she  comprehends  the  presence  of  the  Spirit 
in  the  written  and  preached  word  and  in  the  Holy  Sac- 
raments. 

Her  charge  against  others  is  that  they  have  more 
or  less  divorced  what  God  has  joined  together  in  Christ, 
in  the  Church,  in  the  Scriptures,  and  in  the  Sacraments, 
and  that  they  thus  abridge  the  import  of  Divine  institu- 
tions and  lower  the  efficacy  of  the  means  of  grace. 

The  Sacraments,  which  in  common  with  others 
they  hold  to  be  signs  and  memorials,  Lutherans  regard 
also  as  vehicles  and  bearers  of  invisible  energy,  through 
which  the  ascended  Redeemer  touches  the  individual 
soul,  enduing  it  in  Baptism  with  the  beginning  of  a 
new  life,  and  nourishing  it  in  the  Supper  by  the  com- 
munion of  His  body  and  blood. 

The  doctrine  of  the  Real  Presence  has  exposed 
the  Lutherans  to  great  misapprehension  and  unwar- 
ranted reproach.  They  teach  that  in  the  Holy  Supper 
there  are  present  with  the  elements,  and  received  sacra- 
mentally  and  supernaturally,  the  body  and  blood  of  the 
glorified  God-man,  a  unique  and  mysterious  reality 
alike  to  believers  and  to  the  unworthy,  serving  the  for- 
mer unto  spiritual  invigoration,  the  latter  unto  condem- 
nation. 

This  has  been  persistently  stigmatized  as  consub- 
stantiation,  although  not  a  single  Lutheran  teacher  has 
ever  advocated  that  theory,  and  the  Church's  defenders 
have  with  one  voice  repudiated  the  term  and  the  idea 
which  it  conveys. 

Such   a  charge  associates  the   Lutheran  doctrine 


222  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

with  the  Roman  Catholic  dogma  of  transubstantiation, 
reducing  the  distinction  to  the  difference  between 
"trans"  and  "con,"  the  former  prefix  indicating  an  abso- 
lute change  of  the  elements  into  another  substance,  the 
latter  the  commingling  of  the  elements  with  the  body 
and  blood  of  the  Lord,  forming  one  substance. 

Lutherans  hold  that  the  bread  remains  bread,  the 
wine  remains  wine,  but  in  the  sacramental  reception  of 
these  there  is  a  unique  reception  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  a  communion  of  His  body  and  His  blood. 

The  genius  of  Lutheran  worship  is  a  moderate  use 
of  prescribed  forms,  those  mainly  which  the  Church 
has  employed  in  its  devotion  from  the  earliest  ages  of 
Christendom.  Historically  the  Lutheran  is  always 
classed  with  the  liturgical  churches,  and  she  boasts  an 
extraordinary  wealth  of  liturgical  treasures,  the  Ger- 
man mind  having  a  strong  predilection  for  the  subject 
of  worship. 

Uniformity  is  not  enforced,  and  provision  is  always 
made  not  only  for  extempore  prayer,  but  also  at  vari- 
ous points  for  an  alternate  form  or  desirable  modifica- 
tion. 

The  liberty  of  the  congregation  is  guaranteed  at 
the  same  time  that  the  value  of  essential  uniformity  is 
emphasized.  The  tendency  for  more  ritual  which  is 
found  to-day  in  all  churches  has  shown  itself  also 
among  the  Lutherans.  By  the  co-operation  of  all  the 
English  Lutheran  bodies  a  Common  Order  of  Service 
has  been  prepared  and  issued,  which  proved  so  generally 
acceptable  as  to  command  the  unanimous  approval  of 
the  three  Bodies,  and  which  elicited  from  one  of  the 


THE    LUTHERANS.  223 

most  distinr;:uished  Presbyterians  the  encomium  of 
being  "the  most  fitting,  judicious,  and  edifying  form  of 
worship  in  which  he  had  ever  joined ;  a  credit  to  the 
Lutheran  Church  and  a  model  to  other  churches." 

The  Christian  Year  is  generally  observed,  and  its 
three  principal  festivals  are  celebrated  with  great  eclat 
and  with  crowded  congregations.  To  the  striking  ob- 
servance of  these  festivals  by  the  Lutherans,  and  espe- 
cially to  their  joyous  Christmas  customs,  may  be  cred- 
ited in  large  measure  their  general  recognition  in 
American  churches.  The  Christmas  tree  was  first  seen 
in  this  country  in  Lutheran  churches  and  in  Lutheran 
homes. 

The  bright  and  triumphal  character  of  the  Chris- 
tian festivals,  celebrating  as  they  do  those  cardinal 
events  in  the  history  of  redemption,  which  have  secured 
its  blessed  results  and  glorious  hopes,  are  peculiarly 
consonant  with  the  Lutheran  type  of  Christianity.  The 
living  experience  of  their  doctrine  of  justification  by 
faith  opens  in  the  heart  the  deepest  fountain  of  joy,  and 
sheds  over  the  entire  life  a  glow  of  peace  that  passeth 
understanding. 

To  such  an  experience  the  glad  tidings  of  the 
angelic  anthem  become  a  profound  reality.  The  assur- 
ance of  being  the  children  of  God,  through  faith  in 
Jesus  Christ,  is  a  signal  and  a  pledge  of  perpetual  re- 
joicing, as  it  is  the  only  basis  of  holy  living. 

To  call  the  Lutheran  a  singing  Church,  as  has  often 
been  done,  is  a  just  recognition  of  her  cheerful,  buoy- 
ant spirit,  which  voices  itself  in  her  songs  of  salvation. 
Her  walls  inclose  neither  the  ascetic  gloom  of  monastic 


224  '^HE   HIGHER   ROCK. 

penance  nor  the  long-visaged  and  chilling  austerity  oi 
Puritanism.  She  recognizes  as  much  as  any  other  com- 
munion the  terrible  sinfulness  of  sin,  but  the  import  of 
her  teaching  seems  to  impress  upon  her  people,  beyond 
what  others  do,  the  absolute  victory  that  has  been  won 
over  sin,  and  the  certainty  of  deliverance  alike  from  its 
guilt  and  power.  Her  understanding  of  the  Gospel 
makes  it  a  feast  and  not  a  fast. 

Tlie  large  Lutheran  community  is  not  marshaled 
in  a  corporate  and  homogeneous  union.  It  has  prop- 
erly started  from  three  centres,  and  has  developed  into 
three  grand  divisions.  Nearly  all  the  English  congre- 
gations are  the  outcome  of  Muhlenberg's  organizing 
genius  and  his  Apostolic  activity  in  Philadelphia  and 
the  surrounding  regions. 

Having  survived  the  dogged  resistance  to  the  Eng- 
lish language,  they  began  with  the  founding  of  the 
General  Synod  in  1820  to  co-operate  in  the  establish- 
ment of  educational  institutions,  candidates  for  the 
sacred  office  were  trained  and  multiplied,  missionary 
agencies  were  set  in  motion,  and  strong  churches  were 
built  up  in  Eastern  cities. 

Although  for  a  long  time  struggling  under  every 
imaginable  disadvantage,  this  branch  of  the  Church 
has  spread  over  the  country  from  New  York  to  the 
Golden  Gate,  having  its  main  strength  in  the  Middle 
States,  especially  in  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland,  where 
it  is,  in  many  districts,  the  dominant  religious  body. 

In  Pennsylvania  alone  it  maintains  three  prosper- 
ous colleges,  and  as  many  theological  seminaries.    This 


THE    LUTHERANS.  225 

branch  has  never  penetrated  Xew  England,  and  it  has 
not  to  a  great  extent  impressed  itself  upon  the  South. 

Unfortunately  it  has  itself  experienced  divisions, 
which  have  doubtless  retarded  the  general  progress. 
The  outbreak  of  the  civil  war  severed  the  organic  rela- 
tions of  Southern  Lutherans  from  their  brethren  north 
of  the  Potomac,  and  the  force  of  circumstances,  not 
sectionalism,  has  prevented  their  reunion  with  the  Gen- 
eral Synod. 

They  have  colleges  at  Salem,  \a.,  Mount  Pleasant 
and  Concord,  N.  C,  and  Newberry,  S.  C. 

The  General  Synod,  which  at  one  time  embraced 
almost  the  entire  American  or  English-speaking  ele- 
ment, experienced  another  rupture  in  1866,  The  im- 
mediate occasion  for  this  was  a  parliamentary  ruling 
at  the  Convention  in  Fort  Wayne,  but  a  deeper  cause 
was  doubtless  instrumental  in  hastening  the  dissolu- 
tion. 

During  the  era  of  their  weakness  and  isolation, 
and  especially  in  the  course  of  their  transition  to  an- 
other language  and  their  amalgamation  with  a  new 
nation,  the  scattered  Lutheran  churches  had  in  doctrine 
and  usage  become  closely  assimilated  to  the  stronger 
churches  around  them.  The  broad  line  of  distinction 
in  teaching  and  church  life  had  almost  disappeared 
before  the  intrusion  of  radicalism  and  rationalism. 

A  conservative  reaction  set  in  during  the  40's. 
"The  good  old  ways  of  the  fathers"  were  once  more 
sought ;  the  old  doctrines  were  studied  with  fresh 
ardor ;    the    devotional    and    liturgical    treasures    of 

15 


226  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

Lutheranism  were  recovered  and  put  into  the  national 
tongue,  and  a  revival  of  historic  Lutheranism  was  wit- 
nessed in  many  quarters.  In  the  language  of  Dr.  C.  P. 
Krauth,  St.,  "the  Church  was  disposed  to  renew  her 
connection  with  the  past,  and  in  her  future  progress 
to  walk  under  the  guidance  of  the  light  which  it  has 
furnished." 

This  movement  met  with  powerful  resistance,  and 
was  the  signal  for  protracted  and  violent  controversy. 
Such  champions  as  Dr.  S.  S.  Schmucker,  the  head  of 
the  Gettysburg  Seminary,  long  the  most  conspicuous 
and  influential  Lutheran  in  America ;  Dr.  B.  Kurtz, 
whose  editorial  pen  in  the  Lutheran  Observer  wielded 
an  immense  power ;  and  Dr.  S.  Sprecher,  President  of 
Wittenberg  College,  the  brilliant  leader  of  the  Western 
churches,  contended  with  might  and  main  against  the 
revival  of  what  was  termed  "the  Old  Lutheran  The- 
ology." 

The  representatives  of  "the  New  School"  carried 
their  measures  so  far  as  to  bring  out  the  "American 
Recension  of  the  Augsburg  Confession,"  the  so-called 
"Definite  Platform,"  which  eliminated  from  the  funda- 
mental Creed  of  the  Lutheran  Church  those  doctrines 
which  distinguish  her  from  other  Churches. 

This  bold  attempt  at  reconstructing  the  Confession 
so  as  to  efiface  the  Lutheran  type  of  Christianity  raised 
a  storm  throughout  the  Church  which  overwhelmed 
its  authors,  and  added  a  powerful  impetus  to  the  move- 
ment it  was  meant  to  counteract.  It  was  indirectly 
repudiated  by  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  General 
Synod  of  York,  in  1864.     But  sharp  contentions  were 


THE    LUTHERANS.  227 

kept  up,  especially  over  the  admission  of  the  Franckean 
Synod  into  the  General  Synod,  and  over  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Philadelphia. 
Doctrinal  divergencies,  undeniably,  contributed  to  both 
actions,  yet  the  lines  were  not  drawn  clearly  between 
those  representing  the  stricter  and  those  championing 
the  laxer  doctrinal  views.  The  conflict  issued  in  the 
withdrawal  of  the  venerable  and  powerful  Ministerium 
of  Pennsylvania  from  the  General  Synod,  followed  by 
a  number  of  other  District  Synods,  and  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  General  Council  on  an  unequivocal  and  pro- 
nounced Lutheran  basis. 

This  new  body,  it  was  hoped,  might  become  the 
rallying  centre  for  the  union  of  all  Lutherans,  native 
and  immigrant,  who  received  unqualifiedly  the  Augs- 
burg Confession.  A  large  number  of  such  continued 
to  adhere  to  the  General  Synod,  which  at  the  same  time 
pledged  itself  more  avowedly  and  fully  to  the  Confes- 
sion, and  which,  while  tolerating  a  considerable  diver- 
gence of  opinion  and  practice,  cherishes,  nevertheless, 
also  an  ardent  devotion  to  the  peculiar  features  of  the 
Church. 

The  second  grand  division  of  Lutherans  is  known 
as  the  Missourians,  whose  development  started  at  St. 
Louis.  In  that  vicinity  a  colony  of  Saxons,  which 
embraced  clerg\'men,  teachers,  physicians,  lawyers  and 
artisans,  who  had  left  the  Fatherland  because  of  their 
dissatisfaction  with  the  State  Church,  founded  a  settle- 
ment in  the  Spring  of  1839.  Struggling  with  deep 
poverty  and  other  unspeakable  hardships,  they  at  once 
organized   a   school,   in    which   religion,    Latin,   Greek,, 


225  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

Hebrew,  German,  French  and  English,  history,  geogra- 
phy, mathematics,  natural  philosophy,  natural  history, 
mental  philosophy  and  music  were  to  be  taught. 

Their  standard  of  culture  and  their  religious  ear- 
nestness may  be  inferred  from  the  establishment  of 
such  a  school  in  a  log  cabin  on  the  prairie  immediately 
upon  their  arrival.  Harvard  College  was  not  founded 
until  eighteen  years  after  the  landing  of  the  Mayflower. 
Their  attachment  to  the  Lutheran  faith  had  been  inten- 
sified by  persecution  and  strengthened  by  experience, 
and  in  this  new  world,  freed  from  the  stifling  hand  of 
the  State,  and  too  conscious  of  the  soundness  of  their 
convictions  to  be  disturbed  by  the  religious  teachings 
and  practices  which  prevailed  around  them,  they  gave 
themselves  with  marvelous  wisdom  and  self-sacrifice 
to  the  development  of  their  Church. 

Their  leader  for  almost  half  a  century  was  Dr. 
C,  F.  W.  Walther,  whose  extraordinary  genius,  char- 
acter and  influence  entitle  him  to  rank  with  the  great- 
est men  of  the  century.  They  number  to-day  1,607 
pastors,  2,274  congregations,  and  over  440,489  com- 
municants. Their  theological  seminaries  have  over  400 
candidates  for  the  ministry,  and  besides  these  they  sup- 
port eight  colleges  and  1,200  parochial  schools,  with 
numerous  orphanages  and  hospitals,  and  an  immense 
publication  house. 

A  third  grand  division  of  the  Lutheran  Church  is 
that  sprung  from  the  Scandinavian  immigration, 
which,  beginning  with  small  streams  in  1838  and  1845, 
rose  to  vast  dimensions  after  the  war.  The  larger  part 
of  this  element  is  found  in  the  West  and  the  new  North- 


THE   LUTHERANS.  229 

west,  the  total  number  of  Norwegians  and  Swedes, 
including  the  generation  born  here,  being  estimated  at 
2,500,000. 

All  that  have  crossed  the  ocean  were  baptized  in 
the  Lutheran  National  Churches  of  those  countries,  but 
not  all  have  been  enrolled  as  communicants  in  this 
country.  A  total  of  over  250,000  have  been  thus  en- 
rolled, and  their  progressive  spirit,  missionary  zeal,  and 
rapid  adaptation  to  American  ideas  have  already  made 
them  a  power  in  the  religious  and  political  develop- 
ment of  the  Northwest. 

The  Swedish  Lutherans  have  their  headquarters 
at  Rock  Island,  where  their  most  successful  literary 
institution  is  located.  The  Norwegians  centre  around 
Minneapolis,  where  they  have  flourishing  schools.  In 
some  of  the  newer  States  the  Scandinavians  constitute 
half  the  population,  and  the  character  and  extent  of 
their  influence  may  be  judged  from  the  inflexible  op- 
position of  their  legislators,  which  saved  North  Dakota 
from  the  infamous  toils  of  the  Louisiana  Lottery. 

The  numerical  strength  of  the  Lutheran  commun- 
ion, which  has  always  stood  in  the  lead  of  the  European 
Protestant  bodies,  and  which,  by  its  44,000,000  adher- 
ents, still  outnumbers  them  all,  its  prestige  as  a  grand 
historic  Church,  and  its  possession  of  a  clearly-defined, 
comprehensive  and  rock-ribbed  creed,  which  has  borne 
the  brunt  of  many  centuries  and  which  strikes  its  roots 
deep  into  Apostolic  Christianity — these  place  it  among 
our  great  National  Churches. 

What  will  be  its  future  growth  and  what  its  con- 
tribution to  the  development  of  this  mighty  Nation,  are 


230  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

questions  of  momentous  interest  not  only  to  Lutherans, 
but  to  all  American  patriots  and  all  American  Chris- 
tians. The  situation  is  full  of  hope.  The  prospect  is 
inspiring. 

That  this  Church  has  elements  of  weakness,  that 
the  extension  of  her  influence  will  be  at  the  price  of 
struggles  and  trials,  is  not  to  be  denied.  It  is  not  the 
law  of  Christian  forces  to  achieve  triumphs  without 
conflicts.     Via  Crucis,  via  Lucis! 

Yet  the  discouragements  besetting  the  Lutheran 
body  are  less  serious  than  those  of  some  others.  It 
lacks,  indeed,  the  vigorous  organization  of  the  Metho- 
dists, the  outward  unity  of  the  Episcopalians,  the  prop- 
agandist zeal  of  the  Baptists,  and  the  social  promi- 
nence and  wealth  of  the  Presbyterians ;  yet,  in  compari- 
son with  these,  it  holds  a  vantage  ground  which  has  led 
well-informed  men  outside  the  body  to  speak  of  "the 
Lutheran  backbone  of  this  country." 

Its  future  prosperity  might  be  argued  from  its 
rapid  conquests  in  the  recent  past.  No  other  church 
has  had  to  confront  such  obstacles,  and  }et  no  other 
has  in  the  last  forty  years  shown  such  a  ratio  of  prog- 
ress. In  many  districts,  both  in  the  East  and  in  the  far 
West,  it  has  gained  more  within  a  quarter  of  a  century 
than  all  the  other  Evangelical  churches  combined.  A 
net  increase  of  2,400  congregations  in  ten  years  is  evi- 
dence of  a  powerful  vitality. 

If,  notwithstanding  storms  of  adversity  unknown 
to  other  Churches,  she  has  steadily  progressed;  if  in 
her  poverty  of  outward  resources  and  equipments  she 
has   startled   the  public   mind   by  her   prosperity   and 


THE    LUTHERANS.  231 

power ;  what  may  ihe  not  be  expected  to  accomplish, 
since  the  most  favorable  change  has  come  over  her  out- 
ward condition,  and  a  corresponding  improvement  has 
taken  place  in  her  self-consciousness,  her  esprit  du 
corps,  and  her  realization  of  the  opportunities  and  the 
mission  which  confront  her  in  this  country? 

The  Lutheran  Church  has  an  infallible  guarantee 
of  success  in  the  fact  that  she  is  rooted  and  grounded 
in  the  Faith ;  that  she  rests  firmly  on  a  body  of  Evan- 
gelical doctrine  covering  the  whole  sphere  of  Christian 
thought  and  life. 

Ideas  rule  the  world.  Moral  forces  must  ulti- 
mately gain  sway  over  mankind.  Truth  is  the  only 
invincible  power  on  earth.  The  word  of  the  Lord  en- 
dureth  forever.  And  a  system  which  is  nothing  less 
than  a  scientific  exhibition  and  definition  of  scriptural 
truth  may  be  counted  on  as  mighty  spiritual  force. 
The  consciousness  of  the  possession  of  truth  begets  a 
confidence,  an  enthusiasm,  and  an  energy  which  make 
the  onward  march  of  a  religious  body  irresistible  and 
illimitable. 

The  doctrines  which  the  Lutheran  Church  teaches 
have  stood  the  test  of  every  conceivable  form  of  oppo- 
sition. And  they  are  the  same  to-day  as  when  they 
changed  the  face  of  Europe  in  the  sixteenth  century ; 
the  same,  substantially,  as  when  they  conquered  the 
Roman  Empire  from  the  Euphrates  to  the  wall  of 
Hadrian. 

While  recognizing  that  the  expressions  and  adap- 
tations of  the  Gospel  vary  with  the  progress  of  culture 
and  civilization,  the  Lutherans  have  no  idea  that  the 


232  THE   HIGHER   ROCK. 

truth  itself  ever  changes,  and  they  cast  no  such  impu- 
tations upon  inspired  teachings  as  are  impHed  in  the 
claim  that  only  after  eighteen  centuries  is  the  human 
mind  able  to  reach  its  correct  interpretation. 

The  Lutherans  know  what  they  believe.  And 
whatever  remains  for  them  to  do  in  order  to  attain  the 
highest  efficiency  in  church  work,  they  have  not  first 
to  settle  the  principles  or  limits  of  their  creed.  Not  a 
voice  or  a  whisper  is  heard  for  creed  revision.  Neither 
have  they  any  place  for  a  "new  theology."  A  new  the- 
ology they  consider  a  demand  for  a  new  Bible. 

But  ideas  must  be  promulgated.  The  seed-corns 
of  truth  must  be  scattered  over  broad  acres,  and  not 
husbanded  in  ancient  and  imposing  garners.  Harvests 
grow  from  industry  and  toil.  The  conservatism  of  the 
Lutheran  body  is  so  marked  that  its  movements  often 
seem  tardy,  and  its  aggressions,  compared  with  others, 
seem  behindhand.  It  may  be  because  of  their  race 
characteristics  that  Lutherans  have  not  generally  been 
classed  with  the  most  progressive. 

They  are  not  always  at  the  front.  It  falls  some- 
times to  their  lot  faithfully  to  tarry  by  the  stuff,  while 
their  more  bustling  brethren  go  down  to  the  battle. 
Their  conservatism  is,  however,  the  conservatism  of 
stability,  not  of  stagnation.  They  are  not  character- 
ized by  progress  without  permanence,  neither  by  per- 
manance  without  progress ;  but  combining  the  two 
principles,  their  first  concern  is  to  have  a  solid,  im- 
movable foundation,  and  then  they  build  on  it,  slowly 
it  may  be,  but  surely  and  forever.  They  may  not  plant 
missions   as   rapidly   as   some   others,   but   once   firmly 


THE    LUTHERANS.  233 

planted  their  missions  are  wont  to  have  a  steady  and 
fixed  growth. 

The  Year-Books  of  some  prominent  denomina- 
tions contain  a  cohimn  for  extinct  congregations,  one 
of  them  reporting  annually  one-third  as  many  churches 
expired  as  were  newly  organized ;  another  one-half  as 
many.     Lutherans  have  no  such  statistics. 

Along  with  obstinacy  of  conviction  the  Lutherans 
are  generally  endowed  with  a  staying  genius,  a  per- 
sistence of  purpose,  and  a  power  of  endurance  that  is 
sure  to  bring  them  in  due  time  to  the  foremost  rank. 

It  may  have  taken  a  little  while  for  these  steady- 
going  people  to  become  fully  alive  to  the  rapidity  and 
the  immensity  of  our  country's  expansion,  and  to  real- 
ize the  openings  and  the  responsibilities  for  Christian 
evangelization ;  but  they  have  undoubtedly  been 
aroused,  and  it  is  by  no  means  granted  that  they  are 
less  active  than  most  others  in  missionary  labors,  al- 
though their  operations  are  no  doubt  less  demonstra- 
tive and  less  conspicuous. 

In  the  amount  of  funds  expended,  and  the  number 
of  missionaries  and  churches  generously  supported  by 
wealthy  Boards,  there  is  no  comparison  with  Metho- 
dists or  Presbyterians ;  but  when  it  comes  to  results, 
the  margin  is  with  the  Lutheran  to  an  extent  that  is 
credited  only  by  well-informed  Missionary  Superin- 
tendents. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  account  for  this.  Apart  from 
the  acceptability  of  the  Lutheran  form  of  Christianity 
to  the  general  public,  the  relations  of  the  Lutheran 
body  to  the  best  elements  of  our  foreign-born  popula- 


234  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

tion  give  it  a  matchless  advantage  over  other  bodies. 
All  over  the  land  Lutherans  are  organizing  congrega- 
tions by  the  hundred  and  by  the  thousand,  composed 
of  the  best  blood  of  Europe. 

Undoubtedly  immigration  brings  to  our  shores 
some  undesirable  elements,  and  this  fact  has  strength- 
ened the  nativistic  and  political  antipathy  to  foreigners 
in  general ;  but  impartial  and  discriminating  minds  will 
not  care  to  compromise  their  claims  to  intelligence  by 
denying  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  immigration  of 
the  past  forty  years  is  intellectually  and  morally  up  to 
the  American  standard. 

The  stream  which  has  poured  in  from  the  German 
and  the  Scandinavian  States  represents  as  high  and 
pure  a  civilization  as  is  to  be  found  on  the  planet. 
These  people  have  had  their  training  in  the  best  educa- 
tional systems  of  the  world,  and  they  have  had  a  course 
of  the  soundest  religious  instruction  ;  such,  indeed,  as 
finds  no  parallel  in  our  public  schools. 

It  is  the  rankest  sort  of  ignorance  that  indulges  in 
the  wholesale  denunciation  of  our  foreign-born  fellow- 
citizens.  Let  a  man  read  the  signs  of  our  commercial 
and  banking  houses,  study  the  Congressional  Directory, 
ascertain  the  personnel  of  the  foremost  American  jour- 
nals and  universities,  and  inquire  into  the  nativity  of 
such  names  as  Ericsson,  Lieber,  Damrosch,  Agassiz, 
Schurz,  and  Schaff,  and  it  may  dawn  upon  him  that  the 
foreigner  is  not  intrinsically  inferior  to  the  American. 

Some  discrimination  is  observed  where  the  for- 
eigners are  either  Englishmen  or  Scotchmen.  Com- 
munities or  churches  made  up  of  these  are  at  once 


THE    LUTHERANS.  235 

recognized  as  being  about  as  good  as  Americans ;  but 
when  communities  or  churches  speak  German  or 
Swedish,  then,  forsooth,  they  are  nothing  but  for- 
eigners ! 

The  value  of  these  foreigners  as  ecclesiastical  ma- 
terial is,  however,  keenly  appreciated  by  the  Mission- 
ary Agents  and  Bishops  of  other  denominations,  who 
are  vying  with  each  other  to  appropriate  it.  Finding 
them  wedded  to  the  Lutheran  Church,  in  which  they 
were  reared,  and  in  which  alone  they  feel  themselves 
properly  at  home,  they  testify  with  one  voice  that  these 
multitudes  offer  to  the  Lutheran  body  a  field  for 
Church  Extension  such  as  opens  to  no  other  church. 

A  Presbyterian  journal  in  Cincinnati  recently  said : 
"Undoubtedly  we  are  getting,  by  immigration,  much 
of  the  best  blood  of  Germany.  These  immigrants  are 
mostly  Protestants,  and  by  their  intelligence,  thrift,  and 
numbers,  are  becoming  a  great  power  in  our  land.  The 
Lutheran  Church,  being  the  Church  of  their  fathers, 
stands  nearest  to  them,  and  can  reach  and  fold  them 
best."  Similar  testimony  to  the  sterling  virtues  of 
Germans  and  Scandinavians  is  continually  given  in  the 
denominational  and  independent  religious  press. 

It  has  been  charged  that  they  are  not  Prohibition- 
ists, yet  the  document  most  widely  circulated  in  the 
Iowa  Prohibition  campaign  was  a  German  sermon  of 
the  late  Dr.  Sihler  on  the  "Sauf-Teufel,"  and  it  is  well 
known  that  but  for  the  support  of  the  solid  Scandi- 
navian Lutheran  vote,  Prohibition  would  not  have  tri- 
umphed in  Kansas  and  the  Dakotas. 

Along  with  the  extraordinary  advantage  of  having 


236  THE   HIGHER   ROCK. 

this  great  mass  predisposed  to  their  Church,  the  Luth- 
erans have  also  the  singular  advantage  of  being  able 
to  furnish  religious  services  to  each  nationality  in  its 
own  tongue,  having  a  ministry  capable  of  ofificiating  in 
English,  German,  French,  Dutch,  Swedish,  Norwegian, 
Bohemian,  Polish,  Hungarian,  or  whatever  may  be  the 
nationality.  There  are  also  periodical  publications  in 
some  ten  different  languages. 

Thus  the  weakness  arising  from  the  diversity  of 
language  and  nationality  is  more  than  counterbalanced 
by  the  Pentecostal  endowment  of  tongues,  which  en- 
ables this  Church  alone  to  offer  the  Gospel  in  his  ver- 
nacular to  every  European  that  wanders  to  our  shores. 
The  current  for  English  is  at  the  same  time  so  strong 
that  the  lapse  of  a  generation  may  suffice  to  Anglicize 
the  whole  body. 

An  impression  prevails  that  these  citizens  of  for- 
eign extraction  offer  strenuous  opposition  to  our  lan- 
guage and  institutions ;  that  they  form  an  un-American 
element,  whose  adherence  to  the  ideas  and  traditions 
of  the  Fatherland  renders  them  incapable  of  sustaining 
any  marked  share  in  our  national  development. 

This  imputation  rests  on  no  foundation  of  fact.  It 
assumes,  too,  that  these  people  are  too  obtuse  to  rec- 
ognize the  conditions  of  progress  and  prominence  for 
their  own  posterity.  The  attitude  of  the  Lutherans  on 
the  Bennett  law  has  been  interpreted  as  hostility  to  the 
English  language,  and  confounded  with  the  opposition 
of  the  Roman  Catholics  to  our  system  of  public  schools. 
Both  are  unwarranted  assumptions. 

The  Lutherans  in  Wisconsin,   who  always  cheer- 


THE    LUTHERANS.  237 

fully  pay  their  part  of  the  public  school  fund,  and  who, 
even  where  they  constitute  a  large  majority,  have 
never  asked  for  a  dollar  in  support  of  their  private 
schools,  raised  this  simple  issue :  Whether  the  State 
was  justified  in  thrusting  its  iron  hand  into  schools  sus- 
tained exclusively  by  private  means?  And  not  only  a 
majority  of  Wisconsin  voters,  but  the  most  enlightened 
public  opinion  throughout  the  country  sustained  the 
Lutheran  position. 

The  maintenance  of  these  parish  schools,  in  which 
some  200,000  children  receive  annually  a  course  of  re- 
ligious as  well  as  secular  instruction,  is  a  feature  of 
phenomenal  strength  to  the  Lutherans. 

Sunday-schools  are  kept  up,  and  they  are  gener- 
ally large  and  efficient ;  but  the  dribble  of  religious  in- 
struction doled  out  in  these  once  a  week,  often  by 
incompetent  teachers,  does  not  satisfy  the  German  and 
Scandinavian  idea  of  thoroughness.  And  with  the 
popular  doctrinal  laxity  and  the  prevalence  of  skeptical 
thought,  it  becomes  a  serious  question  whether  the 
multitude  can  be  held  to  Christianity  without  a  more 
thorough  indoctrination  of  the  young  than  now  obtains 
in  our  American  churches. 

The  Lutherans  have  everything  to  gain  and  noth- 
ing to  lose  from  the  erection  of  the  school-house  along- 
side of  the  church.  Their  secular  instruction,  even,  is 
not  inferior  to  that  of  the  common  schools.  The  fact 
that  their  pupils,  as  a  rule,  master  two  languages,  while 
other  children  speak  but  one.  ought  alone  to  silence  the 
cavils  of  prejudice. 

Systematic  religious  training  is  a  universal  charac- 


238  THE   HIGHER    ROCK. 

teristic  of  Lutheranism.  The  inculcation  of  right  doc- 
trine is  regarded  as  of  the  highest  importance.  Cate- 
chisation,  so  largely  discarded  elsewhere,  is  not  only 
retained  but  practiced  with  increasing  fidelity  by  all 
Lutheran  pastors. 

The  attendance  is  not  limited  to  the  young,  though 
the  classes  are  mostly  constituted  of  these.  Accepting 
the  orthodox  view  of  total  depravity,  this  Church 
nevertheless  holds  that  divine  love  broods  over  the 
infant  at  its  birth,  and  it  takes  it  from  the  mother's 
breast  and  seeks  through  baptism  the  initiation  of  a 
spiritual  life,  which  is  thenceforward  to  receive  the 
constant  fostering  care  alike  of  the  natural  and  the  spir- 
itual mother. 

Not  only  are  the  young  by  this  method  kept  to  a 
large  extent  within  the  hallowing  precincts  of  the 
Church,  which  is  not  the  case  where  they  are  left  to 
wait  for  the  period  of  conversion,  but  the  piety  devel- 
oped under  the  law  of  growth  is  likely  to  have  a  solidity 
and  a  stability  which  no  number  of  special  or  spasmodic 
efforts  is  able  to  produce.  The  Lutheran  standard  of 
religious  life  and  practical  morality  is  not  excelled  by 
any  other. 

A  Church  that  lays  so  much  stress  on  heart  culture 
is  not  likely  to  neglect  the  interests  of  general  culture, 
as  may  be  seen  by  the  fact  that  besides  the  twenty-four 
theological  seminaries  there  are  twenty-five  colleges, 
thirty-seven  academies  and  eleven  female  seminaries. 
Prosperous  publishing  houses  are  issuing  an  immense 
amount  of  popular  literature,  including  128  periodicals, 
forty-five  of  which  are  English  and  forty-two  German. 


THE    LUTHERANS.  239 

Authorship  in  the  broader  sense  has  been  com- 
paratively hniited,  yet  the  contributions  to  the  periodi- 
cal press  and  the  publication  of  standard  volumes  from 
the  pen  of  such  men  as  Schmucker,  Krauth,  Walther, 
Jacobs.  Weidner,  \'alentine,  Schodde  and  others,  have 
attracted  national  attention.  Eminent  Lutheran  names 
are  found  in  scientific  circles.  And  while  the  genius  of 
the  Church  does  not  encourage  that  pulpit  oratory 
which  courts  and  commands  notoriety,  such  preachers 
as  Demme,  Stork,  and  Seiss  have  had  few  superiors 
among  our  clergy. 

Possessed  of  the  essentials  for  effecting  expansion 
co-extensive  with  the  limits  of  the  country,  and  for 
commanding  an  influence  commensurate  with  such 
growth,  there  is  no  reason  why  the  Lutheran  Chuch 
should  not  at  an  early  day  become  the  most  powerful 
Evangelical  body  in  the  land,  if  she  is  correspondingly 
in  earnest,  astir  and  aggressive. 

And  evidence  of  vigorous  life  and  enthusiastic  ac- 
tivity abounds.  Not  less  than  1,500  ministerial  candi- 
dates are  now  in  various  stages  of  preparation  and 
more  than  1,200  missionaries,  most  of  them  without  de- 
pendence upon  financial  assistance,  missionary  work 
being  joined  to  their  regular  parochial  duties,  are  plant- 
ing new  churches  in  almost  every  city  and  town 
between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific.  An  average  of  550 
new  churches  are  erected  annually,  and  it  is  a  question 
whether  the  Lutherans  do  not  even  now  reach  with  the 
ministrations  of  the  Gospel  more  people  than  does  any 
other  denomination.  The  number  of  their  adherents  in 
this  country  has  been  placed  as  high  as  7,000,000  souls. 


240  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

There  are  drawbacks  and  elements  of  weakness 
clouding  this  encouraging  outlook,  but  the  surest 
pledge  of  overcoming  them  is  the  general  conscious- 
ness of  their  existence.  Nor  let  it  be  thought  that  the 
activity  spoken  of  is  directed  exclusively  toward  sec- 
tarian propagandism.  The  hearty  appreciation  of  the 
humanity  inculcated  by  the  Gospel  has  developed  a 
zealous  interest  in  the  care  of  the  fatherless  and  a  gen- 
erous provision  for  the  afflicted.  Though  by  no  means 
the  wealthiest  denomination,  the  support  of  some  thirty 
orphanages  by  the  Lutheran  Church  gives  her  the  palm 
in  this  noblest  form  of  Christian  charity. 

Here,  then,  is  a  community  of  vast  numbers,  pos- 
sessed of  a  clear  and  a  complete  faith,  characterized  by 
obstinate  convictions,  by  conservative  habits,  by  intelli- 
gence in  religious  truth,  by  strict  care  for  the  young, 
glorifying  in  the  consciousness  of  a  divine  redemption, 
equipped  with  the  panoply  of  an  army,  which  while  it 
contends  for  institutions  and  principles  which  have 
come  from  heaven,  contends  with  weapons  adapted  to 
our  people  and  our  age ;  and  if  there  is  less  noise  and 
less  demonstration  in  its  battle  than  in  that  of  some 
others,  it  is  because  of  its  assured  conviction  of  having 
the  truth,  and  its  reliance  upon  the  "feste  Burg,"  the 
eternal  God,  who  has  fore-ordained  the  victory  to  those 
who  are  faithful  to  the  trust. 


V.    THE  SOCIAL  CONSCIENCE. 

The  battle  is  on.  We  are  facing  a  grave  social 
crisis.  Never  before  was  witnessed  so  widespread  an 
awakening  in  regard  to  the  moral  needs  and  perils  of 
society.  Never  before  did  the  daily  life  and  the  daily 
lot  of  men  give  concern  to  so  many  benevolent  hearts. 
Never  before  were  people  in  great  numbers  so  willing 
to  devote  themselves  to  the  betterment  of  their  kind. 
Never  before  was  there  so  much  sympathy  between 
man  and  man,  such  consideration  for  the  weak,  such 
indignation  against  the  unjust,  such  a  resolve  to  beat 
down  evil,  to  raise  to  higher  levels  our  social  life  and 
to  effect  a  social  regeneration. 

This  awakening,  this  widely  diffused  fellow-feel- 
ing, this  high  resolve,  is  in  itself  a  stage  of  improve- 
ment— a  testimony  that  we  are  not  content  with  mater- 
ial comforts  or  with  general  financial  prosperity,  but 
that  there  is  abroad  a  demand  for  higher  ideals  of  the 
commonweal,  for  nobler  standards  of  public  virtue,  a 
demand  which  in  turn,  like  the  prophet's  voice  of  the 
desert,  is  the  forerunner  of  our  redemption.  Notable 
movements  towards  this  goal  are  already  in  evidence, 
in  the  form  of  remedial  institutions  and  legislative  en- 
actments. But  institutions  have  a  limited  scope,  and 
there  are  things  which  the  law  cannot  do,  because  it  is 
weak.     A  feeble  outward  check,  it  does  not  touch  the 

i6  (241) 


242  THE   HIGHER    ROCK. 

roots  of  depravity,  and  it  cannot  make  men  either  hon- 
est, or  truthful,  or  pure,  or  sober.  When  the  Sunday 
newspaper  protrudes  from  the  deacon's  coat  pocket,  as 
he  lifts  the  offerings,  when  the  railroad  director  par- 
takes of  the  Holy  Communion,  the  very  hour  that  hun- 
dreds of  his  employees  are  running  excursion  trains, 
our  Sunday  laws  avail  about  as  much  as  the  Pope's 
Bull  against  the  Comet.  Our  patron  has  the  legal  bar- 
riers of  forty-four  States  restraining  divorce,  yet  who- 
ever desires  to  put  away  his  wife  and  marry  another 
uniformly  succeeds. 

Verily,  unless  we  can  use  a  more  effective  weapon, 
unless  we  can  reach  the  springs  of  moral  action,  un- 
less we  can  summon  to  our  aid  an  inner  spiritual 
force  which  makes  for  righteousness,  all  institutional 
and  governmental  measures  for  social  betterment  will 
prove  but  a  mockery.  Human  nature  must  be  held 
and  impelled  from  within.  The  reform  of  the  indi- 
vidual depends  on  the  awakening  of  his  conscience, 
on  the  excitement  of  a  high  purpose  within  him,  on 
his  realization  of  responsibility.  And  men  are  reached 
collectively  by  the  same  spiritual  process.  Man  is  a 
social  being.  His  life  is  united  with  the  life  of  others, 
his  interests  coalesce  with  those  of  his  fellows.  By  a 
law  of  our  being  men  are  associated  in  closest  organic 
relation  of  independence  with  each  other,  forming  one 
family,  one  community,  one  body,  all  sharing  in  a 
measure  a  common  condition,  of  honor  or  dishonor, 
of  happiness  or  misery,  of  innocence  or  guilt.  We 
are  so  inextricably  bound  together  in  communities, 
that  if  one  is  touched,  all  are  touched,  if  one  suffers, 


THE   SOCIAL   CONSCIENCE.  243 

all  suffer,  and  as  a  rule  all  deserve  to  suffer.  Carlyle, 
in  his  execration  of  English  royalty  in  the  eighteenth 
century,  so  far  from  sympathizing  with  their  unfor- 
tunate subjects,  growls:  "What  business  had  the  Eng- 
lish people  to  have  such  rulers !'' 

If  public  things  go  wrong  we  all  share  the  respon- 
sibility. If  we  have  corrupt  politicians  we  have  pro- 
duced them.  If  we  have  depraved  journalism  it  is 
because  we  patronize  it.  If  we  have  Sunday  profana- 
tion it  is  because  we,  the  people,  wink  at  it.  Every 
festering  sore  is  symptomatic  of  the  general  disorder. 

It  is  pre-eminently  in  the  moral  sphere  that  our 
solidarity  appears.  We  are  as  to  conscience  members 
one  of  another,  vitally  interrelated,  each  contributing 
moral  strength  or  weakness  to  the  body,  and  con- 
versely the  body  shedding  moral  strength  or  weakness 
on  the  individual,  making  all  the  higher  interests  of 
society  contingent  upon  its  corporate  moral  vigor. 
Therefore,  as  we  speak  of  the  will  of  the  people,  the 
mind  of  the  people,  the  prejudice  of  the  people,  so 
there  is  a  conscience  of  the  people  acting  with  the 
same  majesty  and  might  as  the  individual  conscience, 
restraining,  coercing,  impelling,  smiting.  This  is  a 
basic  truth  underlying  all  social  order,  the  universal 
consciousness  of  right  and  wrong,  the  touch  of  nature 
which  makes  the  whole  world  kin. 

Every  movement  for  social  reform  must  there- 
fore primarily  make  its  appeal  to  the  moral  manhood 
of  society,  to  the  common  categorical  imperative. 
With  this  power  aroused  and  arrayed  against  the  forces 
of  evil,  we  have  enlisted  a  giant  whose  voice  is  thun- 


244  THE   HIGHER   ROCK. 

der,  whose  hand  is  omnipotence,  whose  tread  is  a  more 
dire  deterrent  to  evil  doers  than  all  laws  and  prisons 
and  penalties. 

The  will  of  the  people  is  the  supreme  power  of 
any  community,  and  when  that  will  is  inspired  by  the 
popular  conscience,  it  is  irresistible.  The  general 
standard  of  morality  accordingly  rises  or  falls  with 
the  demands  of  popular  sentiment.  Even  the  indi- 
vidual who  is  not  hampered  by  his  own  conscience  is 
held  in  check  by  that  of  the  public.  He  dreads  the 
lash  of  popular  indignation,  where  he  would  not  hes- 
itate to  defy  or  outwit  the  law. 

In  the  community  where  my  childhood  was  passed 
there  was  such  reprobation  of  cards  that  those  fond 
of  the  game  had  to  resort  to  the  fields  by  moonlight 
to  escape  detection.  So  also  was  dancing  prohibited 
by  the  social  ban.  The  law  prohibited  neither.  Fifty 
years  ago  the  bottle  was  as  necessary  as  the  sickle  for 
reaping  the  harvest,  social  drinking  was  universal,  and 
even  the  ordination  of  a  minister,  at  least  in  New 
England,  required  a  bar  adjacent  to  the  church  for 
all  comers.  Such  customs  were  stamped  out  not  by 
the  enactment  of  laws,  but  by  the  fiat  of  the  social 
conscience,  by  the  moral  revulsion  of  the  people,  whose 
judgment  is  final  to  all  men  courting  public  favor. 

"We  must  pander  somewhat  to  the  moral  ele- 
ment," was  the  advice  given  in  a  New  York  political 
convention  by  one  of  New  York's  greatest  lawyers. 
Dr.  Little,  speaking  of  legislators  of  every  type,  bad 
and  good,  stupid  and  wily,  says,  "I  have  seen  them 
all  with  one  accord  bow  before  a  serene,  fearless,  intel- 


THE   SOCIAL   CONSCIENCE.  245 

ligent  righteousness,  seeking  no  aims  but  those  of 
God." 

Here  is  an  authority  before  whose  mandates  cower 
the  high  and  the  mighty,  as  well  as  the  humble  and 
the  weak,  a  power  which  hedges  society  with  thorns, 
which  copes  with  temptation,  which  is  the  shield  of 
woman's  chastity  and  the  only  safeguard  of  man's,  an 
influence  which  smooths  the  path  of  virtue  and  makes 
the  way  of  transgressors  hard,  a  sovereign  specific  for 
social  regeneration. 

Why  is  it  so  dumb?  Why  is  this  beneficent  power 
so  inactive,  so  inert?  Why  does  it  fail  to  smite  the 
monsters  which  prey  on  the  public  vitals? 

From  want  of  use  like  rusty  armor  it  is  not  in 
working  order.  Present  conditions  are  most  unfavor- 
able to  the  healthy,  vigorous  action  of  the  social  con- 
science. The  din  of  modern  life,  the  fierce  rush  and 
excitement  of  business,  the  prevalent  migration  and 
change  of  association,  our  desultory  thinking,  our  ill- 
assorted,  ill-digested  reading,  combine  to  blunt  its  edge 
and  to  block  its  action.  All  the  energies  of  brain  and 
nerve  are  used  up  in  material  pursuits. 

The  collective  conscience,  like  the  individual  con- 
science, may  be  seized  by  lethargy  or  torpor.  It  may 
fall  into  a  state  of  suspended  animation,  as  in  the  case 
of  Napoleon,  who  after  he  had  dyed  with  blood  every 
stream  of  Europe  and  made  a  continent  to  resound  with 
the  groans  of  the  dying  and  of  widows  and  orphans, 
had  the  effrontery  to  assert  "that  in  all  his  career  he 
had  never  done  anything  wrong." 

Whatever  the  cause,  the  moral  tone  of  a  people 


246  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

may  get  very  low,  the  moral  vitality  very  sluggish.  And 
beyond  question  the  most  formidable  obstruction  in 
the  way  of  social  amendment  is  not  the  opposition  en- 
countered, nor  the  undisguised  devil,  but  popular 
indif^^erence. 

From  this  indifiference,  from  the  benumbing,  stu- 
pefying influences  of  modern  conditions,  the  public 
needs  to  be  aroused,  to  have  powerful  stimulants  ad- 
ministered to  its  moral  sense.  As  public  intelligence 
can  be  promoted,  public  sympathy  excited,  public  opin- 
ion moulded,  so  can  the  public  conscience  be  stirred 
and  the  heart  of  the  people  swayed  for  the  right  as 
by  a  rushing,  mighty  wind.  And  it  has  been  well 
said,  the  greatest  need  of  our  times  is  the  quickening 
of  the  popular  conscience. 

This  organ  is,  indeed,  so  susceptible  of  excite- 
ment and  development  as  to  give  rise  to  the  theory 
that  it  is  altogether  an  affair  of  education.  And  yet 
just  here  yawns  the  chasm  in  our  educational  system. 

All  the  higher  interests  of  society  are  contingent 
upon  its  corporate  moral  sense.  Hence  as  we  speak 
of  the  will  of  the  people,  of  the  heart  of  the  people,  of 
the  judgment  of  the  people,  so  there  is  a  conscience 
of  the  people  acting  with  the  same  majesty  and  might 
as  the  individual  conscience,  restraining,  coercing, 
smiting  the  multitude  as  a  man's  conscience  smites 
his  personal  self.  This  is  an  elemental  basic  truth 
underlying  all  social  order,  a  universal  principle  of 
right  and  wrong,  a  general  moral  consciousness,  which 
all  men  share  in  common,  a  touch  of  nature  which 
makes  all  kin. 


THE   SOCIAL   CONSCIENCE.  247 

Social  betterment  must  reckon,  therefore,  first  of 
all  with  the  social  conscience.  It  must  appeal  to  the 
normal  sense  of  mankind,  to  those  elemental  moral  dis- 
tinctions recognized  by  all  human  beings.  It  must 
challenge  the  elemental  conscience  of  nature  which 
makes  the  whole  world  kin.  With  this  power  aroused 
and  arrayed  against  the  forces  of  evil  we  have  enlisted 
a  giant  whose  voice  is  the  voice  of  thunder,  whose 
hand  is  the  hand  of  omnipotence,  whose  action  grinds 
to  powder  whatever  opposes  it,  a  power  more  dreaded 
than  all  laws  and  prisons  and  penalties. 

Moral  training  has  for  the  most  part  been  cast 
out  from  our  public  schools.  Every  faculty  except 
the  highest  and  the  noblest  is  roused  and  exercised, 
evolved  and  invigorated.  The  crowning  faculty,  that 
which  God  designed  to  animate  and  govern  all  others, 
is  contemptuously  ignored,  and  unless  its  education 
can  be  secured  elsewhere,  our  youth  will  be  graduated 
from  our  schools  as  moral  imbeciles.  Granted  that 
the  primary  purpose  of  schools  maintained  by  the 
state  is  to  rear  good  citizens,  how  is  good  citizenship 
possible  without  the  cultivation  of  the  moral  faculty? 

Conscience  is  not  an  automatic  machine.  It  is 
neither  self-acting,  nor  self-illuminating,  and  the  first 
requisite  for  its  development  is  intelligence.  As  the 
judge  of  moral  conduct  it  requires  accurate  and  full 
information  to  make  a  sound  verdict.  The  right  must 
be  made  apparent  to  the  people's  eye  if  men  are  to 
be  rescued  from  the  wrong  side,  and  constrained  to 
right  action.  It  is  never  dead  but  it  may  be  sleeping, 
and  it  has  to  be  awakened  by  letting  in  the  light.    The 


248  THE   HIGHER   ROCK. 

facts  must  be  furnished,  the  principles  expounded  and 
the  logic  be  demonstrated  to  the  people.  Then  the 
popular  conscience  will  muster  its  latent  energies  and 
strike  with  a  momentum  that  will  make  titanic  evil 
writhe  in  mortal  agony. 

Conscience  must  be  taught  not  only  to  act,  but 
to  act  rightly.  It  is  not  an  infallible  monitor,  and  if 
uninformed  or  misinformed  it  is  liable  to  make  terrible 
havoc.  The  engine  without  a  headlight  may  wreck 
the  human  freight  which  it  was  designed  to  bear  safely 
to  its  destination.  Some  of  the  direst  wrongs  ever 
inflicted  on  mankind  resulted  from  a  misguided  con- 
science. 

The  moral  sense  may  be  perverted  by  an  uncer- 
tain sound  from  the  pulpit,  by  either  false  teaching  or 
by  an  undue  stress  on  certain  doctrines  sound  in  them- 
selves. There  has  been  such  a  one-sided  presentation 
of  the  divine  fatherhood,  the  people  have  been  taught 
so  much  of  the  kindness  of  God  and  of  the  redeeming 
qualities  of  man,  that  many  have  concluded :  God  is 
too  good  to  damn  a  man  and  man  is  too  good  to  be 
damned — a  theory  of  the  divine  government  which 
reduces  it  to  a  vast  scheme  of  senility,  securing  immun- 
ity to  evil-doers.  Such  a  theory  deflects  the  popular 
conscience  from  its  normal  function  as  a  power  which 
makes  for  righteousness — a  function  which  unites  with 
nature  and  revelation  in  making  judgment  and  justice 
the  habitation  of  God's  throne  and  proclaiming  that 
though  hand  join  in  hand  the  wicked  shall  not  go  un- 
punished. 

Misguided  by  a  false  theology,  conscience  is  mis- 


THE   SOCIAL   CONSCIENCE.  249 

led  into  false  sympathy  and  casts  the  mantle  of  charity 
over  bad  men  whose  punishment  justice  demands.  An 
overwrought  humanitarianism  has  developed  quite  a 
capacity  for  discovering  the  extenuating  circumstances 
of  a  crime,  apologizing  for  all  sorts  of  scoundrelism, 
making  pets  of  double-dyed  criminals,  breaking  the 
force  of  justice  and  relieving  the  offender  of  those 
compunctions  of  remorse  which  are  the  only  hope  of 
his  reformation. 

The  pulpit  is  much  at  fault  in  not  aiming,  as  it 
once  did,  directly  at  the  conscience,  in  not  emphasizing 
its  paramount  place  in  the  religious  life.  We  have 
vast  aggregates  of  emotional  religion  and  of  formal 
religion  without  an  element  of  conscience  in  either  of 
them.  After  preaching  humanitarianism  for  a  gen- 
eration let  it  once  more  preach  righteousness. 

The  Gospel  is  not  all  charity,  humanity,  altruism, 
giving  to  everyone  that  asks,  turning  the  other  cheek 
also  for  a  blow.  From  foundation  to  dome,  from 
centre  to  periphery  it  is  righteousness,  inexorable 
moral  principle.  It  teaches  not  only  love  but  hatred 
as  well,  the  abhorrence  of  wrong,  impurity,  treachery, 
untruth,  lust.  It  invents  no  mild  designations  for  ras- 
cally conduct,  no  oily  palliations  for  atrocious  wrongs, 
no  soothing  opiates  for  inward  qualms. 

There  is  no  better  stimulus  for  the  popular  con- 
science than  a  sound  religious  faith.  Revelation  in- 
spires moral  convictions.  Faith  begets  moral  obliga- 
tion and  moral  responsibility.  It  was  by  their  per- 
suasion of  the  invisible  and  their  assurance  of  a  future 
that  the  Elders  of   Israel  achieved  a  good   report  for 


250  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

moral  heroism.  The  vision  of  the  unseen  is  a  mighty 
spur  in  the  struggle  with  what  is  seen.  It  is  the  undis- 
puted testimony  of  history  that  the  decline  of  popular 
integrity  and  public  morality  go  hand  in  hand  with  the 
decadence  of  a  sturdy  religious  faith. 

To  bring  forth  the  most  effective  action  the  col- 
lective conscience  we  should  give  it  our  fullest  confi- 
dence. A  majority  of  the  people  are  at  heart  not 
immoral  or  corrupt.  They  prefer  truth  to  lying,  hon- 
esty to  fraud,  decency  to  impurity.  Let  them  have 
credit  for  this.  They  can  be  taught  to  know  the  devil 
when  they  see  him.  They  can  be  made  to  understand 
that  not  the  zeal  of  missionaries,  but  the  greed  of 
merchants  was  responsible  for  the  Chinese  horror. 

The  apathetic  mass  can  be  stirred.  The  unthink- 
ing can  be  made  to  think,  to  see  things  with  a  true 
perspective,  to  choose  right  standards.  They  must  not 
be  left  undisturbed  in  their  devotion  to  material  gains, 
in  their  absorption  in  pursuits,  whose  intrinsic  value 
is  paltry  indeed.  The  supreme  importance  of  the  right 
has  to  be  inculcated,  and  along  with  it  its  irreconcil- 
able antagonism  to  the  wrong.  The  superiority  of  the 
spiritual  over  the  material  needs  to  be  kept  constantly 
before  the  public  eye.  Honor,  justice,  purity,  charity, 
truth  must  have  precedence  in  life.  Man's  dignity  and 
man's  destiny  must  be  emphasized  and  the  pledge  of 
both  is  his  moral  outfit.  Right  living  is  better  than 
rich  living.  Giving  is  more  blessed  than  receiving, 
and  kind  hearts  are  more  than  coronets. 

The  public  mind  must  be  brought  to  an  intelligent 
apprehension  of  the  specific  evils   from  which  society 


THE   SOCIAL   CONSCIENCE.  25I 

needs  redemption.  The  pest  and  plague  of  the  com- 
munity, the  real  monsters  to  be  overthrown,  under 
whatever  giiise  they  appear,  are  lust  and  greed,  which 
form  an  infernal  partnership  for  a  vast  business  and 
colossal  gains  from  the  ruin  of  the  morals  and  the 
happiness  of  the  people.  .And  as  long  as  the  public 
conscience  is  not  sufficiently  instructed  to  direct  its 
artillery  against  this  combined  enemy,  it  may  as  well 
fire  into  the  air.  The  solidarity  of  mankind  must  come 
to  be  better  apjireciated.  the  sense  of  fellowship  must 
be  fostered,  and  the  reciprocal  obligations  which  it 
imposes  acknowledged,  the  debt  which  every  man  owes 
to  every  man.  "My"  and  "mine"  must  give  way  to 
"our"  and  "ours,"  and  a  man's  service  to  society  must 
be  shown  to  be  as  sacred  and  as  imperative  as  his  duty 
to  himself  and  family.  The  health,  the  education,  the 
morals  of  the  public  make  a  demand  on  his  time  and 
means  second  to  no  other  demand. 

The  employer  is  under  bonds  to  his  employees, 
which  are  not  discharged  by  the  payment  of  proper 
wages.  He  owes  to  them  before  God  an  enlightened 
and  disinterested  consideration  which  enjoins  upon  him 
the  expenditure  of  a  proportion  of  his  profits  on  their 
mental  and  moral  improvement,  and  this  obligation 
the  public  conscience  is  able  to  enforce.  In  a  question 
of  common  interests  or  private  advantage,  of  the  gen- 
eral good  or  personal  convenience,  selfishness  becomes 
a  crime  against  society,  and  the  man  who  barters  or 
wrecks  the  common  weal  for  personal  gain  must  be 
branded  with  infamy  by  the  moral  rebuke  of  his 
neighbors. 


252  THE   HIGHER   ROCK. 

Let  US  once  have  large  bodies  of  men  who  indi- 
vidually and  collectively  will  accept  and  insist  upon  the 
principle  that  we  are  members  one  of  another,  and  the 
most  selfish  and  sordid  creature  must  bow  to  the  pub- 
lic sentiment  which  they  create. 

There  is  no  getting  away  from  it.  You  are  your 
brother's  keeper,  the  keeper  of  your  neighbor,  of  your 
neighborhood.  You  are  responsible  for  its  rnoral  con- 
dition. You  have  a  reprehensible  complicity  in  much 
of  the  vice  and  crime  which  surround  you.  And  this 
responsibility  rises  with  men's  position,  wealth  or  cul- 
ture, so  that  public  men,  magistrates,  judges,  employ- 
ers, publishers  and  editors  have  a  tremendous  account 
to  render. 

Greatest  of  all  is  the  responsibility  of  Christians 
who  by  every  principle  of  their  profession  must  shed 
a  purifying  influence  on  the  moral  atmosphere.  On 
them,  above  all  others,  it  is  incumbent  to  have  a  sense 
of  oneness,  a  public  spirit,  to  be  the  servants  of  their 
fellows,  to  live  out  of  themselves,  to  minister  rather 
than  to  be  ministered  to,  to  exemplify  human  brother- 
hood, to  be  a  universal  priesthood,  offering  continually 
sacrifices  for  another.  Even  as  our  Master  spared 
not  Himself,  so  is  it  laid  upon  us  to  be  servants  of  all, 
to  live  for  the  public,  for  society,  for  the  church  and 
for  the  state,  to  stimulate  and  to  safeguard  the  public 
virtue  especially  by  the  firmness  and  incorruptibility 
of  our  own. 

It  is  not  enough  for  us  to  exert  ourselves  individ- 
ually for  social  betterment.  Individual  efiforts  at  reform 
are  all  but  helpless  and  hopeless.     This  war  requires 


THE   SOCIAL   CONSCIENCE.  253 

the  joining  of  forces.  We  must  find  a  way  of  uniting 
the  virtuous  element  in  a  sentiment  of  self-devotion 
to  the  general  good.  As  the  entire  people  are  to  be 
kept  in  mind,  so  they  must  be  acted  on  by  the  full 
weight  of  the  body.  The  enlightened  public  conscience 
must  be  organized  into  a  popular  movement.  A  social 
trust  must  be  formed  capitalizing  all  voluntary  obliga- 
tions and  sacrifices  in  behalf  of  all  the  moral  interests 
of  the  community. 

The  most  conspicuous  trend  of  the  day  is  the  com- 
bination of  industrial  and  commercial  interests,  the 
joint  control  of  vast  properties.  And  we  are  con- 
fronted with  yet  bolder  theories  looking  to  municipal 
and  state  ownership  of  all  properties  and  interests — 
a  system  of  universal  co-operation,  vesting  every  inter- 
est in  one  colossal  corporation.  What  may  come  of 
this  daring  communistic  ideal  no  one  knows,  but  were 
this  stupendous  scheme  realized,  and  could  it  at  the 
same  time  be  informed  by  a  corporate  conscience,  were 
this  huge  public  administration  to  be  permeated  and 
dominated  by  righteousness,  safeguarding  tlie  inherent 
and  inalienable  dignity  of  man,  breathing  the  spirit 
of  kindness,  of  sympathy,  of  human  brotherhood,  such 
a  scheme  might  be  welcomed  as  the  dawn  of  the  mil- 
lennium. Whether  such  a  consolidation  is  practicable 
or  not  in  the  material  sphere,  it  is  practicable  in  the 
spiritual  sphere,  and  every  consideration  calls  upon 
us  to  consolidate  moral  power,  to  marshal  under  one 
banner  all  the  forces  which  make  higher  standards  of 
social  life. 

The  popular  conscience  fails  often  to  act  eflfec- 


254  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

tively  because  its  service  is  not  appreciated,  its  help 
is  not  invoked.  It  is  not  trusted  with  the  task  of 
moral  reform.  We  show  more  confidence  in  arm  of 
flesh,  we  betake  ourselves  to  the  state,  to  the  sword, 
as  if  society  were  a  physical  machine  acted  on  by  brute 
force,  and  not  a  spiritual  organism  responding  to  spir- 
itual influence.  Moral  victories  are  won  only  by  moral 
forces  and  moral  processes.  We  seem  to  forget  that 
the  moral  law  is  a  vital  part  of  the  universe  and  that 
conscience  is  its  executive,  the  heaven-ordained  instru- 
ment for  its  enforcement.  In  this  province  carnal 
weapons  do  not  answer,  they  are  unavailing,  out  of 
place.  Human  nature  resents  and  defies  physical  com- 
pulsion, making  it  often  but  an  incitement  to  evil.  For 
moral  agents  must  be  wrought  upon  by  moral  suasion, 
by  moral  ideas  which  touch  the  springs  of  action.  The 
appeal  must  be  to  the  conscience,  which  is  the  mouth- 
piece of  God.  Its  action  may  be  slower  than  police 
machinery,  but  it  is  surer,  more  drastic,  more  power- 
ful and  more  abiding  than  all  outward  compulsion. 

For  conscience  is  allied  to  the  eternal  throne.  It 
makes  us  co-workers  with  God.  It  joins  us  with  un- 
seen spiritual  agencies,  and  no  coalition  of  evil  can 
withstand  the  combined  moral  forces  of  heaven  and 
earth.  What  we  need  to-day  is  confidence  in  truth  as 
the  conservative  and  regenerative  force  of  society,  truth 
indissolubly  linked  with  conscience  and  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Such  confidence  begets  the  hope  of  victory  so  inspiring 
to  a  struggle,  it  kindles  enthusiasm  for  the  right  with- 
out which  every  onset  wavers,  it  arms  men  with  the  con- 


THE   SOCIAL   CONSCIENCE.  255 

sciousness  of  power,  it  inspires  them  with  the  courage 
and  the  conquering  temper  which  bears  clown  all  oppo- 
sition. It  delivers  us  from  the  attitude  of  an  apologetic 
and  a  cowardly  defensive,  and  puts  us  on  the  aggres- 
sive, with  the  unswerving,  indomitable  resolve  that 
whatever  is  vile  in  business,  in  politics,  in  amusements, 
in  literature,  in  art,  in  social  life,  shall  perish  from  the 
earth.  The  hosts  of  evil  have  no  such  support,  no 
such  confidence.  They  are  fighting  a  losing  battle,  and 
with  the  public  conscience  in  arms  against  them  they 
are  made  to  realize  it. 

For  right  is  right,  as  God  is  God, 

And  right  the  day  must  win; 
To    doubt,    would    be    disloyalty, 

To   falter,   would  be   sin. 

What  is  it,  my  friends,  that  saved  the  Union? 
Was  it  our  superior  generals,  our  larger  armies,  our 
inexhaustible  resources?  What  in  the  darkest  days 
of  the  awful  conflict  saved  the  President  from  despair 
and  held  his  great  commander  to  a  continuance  of  the 
frightful  slaughter? 

General  Grant,  in  his  "Memoirs,"  testifies :  "I 
believe  there  was  never  a  day  when  the  President  did 
not  think  that,  in  some  w'ay  or  other,  a  cause  so  just 
as  ours  would  come  out  triumphant." 

And  Air.  Lincoln  in  this,  as  in  so  many  other 
things,  represented  and  shared  the  heart  of  the  people. 
They  had  come  to  the  conviction  that  to  them  was 
committed  the  wisest  and  most  beneficent  form  of  gov- 
ernment ever   vouchsafed   to  mankind,   and   with   this 


256  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

conviction  all  aflame  they  were  resolved  that  the  last 
drop  of  the  nation's  blood  must  flow  sooner  than  let 
the  Republic  fall.  Behind  our  magnificent  armies  it 
was  the  enlightened  and  aroused  conscience  of  the 
nation  that  saved  the  Union. 


VI.  THE  VALUE  OF  ECCLESIASTICAL 
HISTORY  TO  THE  EVANGELICAL  LU- 
THERAN CHURCH. 

SEMINARY  INAUGURAL,    1 874. 
[From    Quarterly    Review.] 

The  Church  has  clone  wisely  in  giving  a  course  of 
Ecclesiastical  history  to  those  who  are  to  become  her 
future  preachers.  Christianity  is  founded  on  historical 
events  and  the  living  facts  of  history  are  the  best  prac- 
tical illustrations  of  its  nature,  character  and  aims. 

Next  to  Revelation,  no  realm  of  truth  has  richer 
instruction  than  the  department  of  History.  It  is 
largely  necessary  to  a  full  understanding  of  Revela- 
tion. It  is  the  best  commentary  on  Revelation.  It  is 
the  human  side  of  Revelation.  It  is  the  strongest  proof 
and  confirmation  of  Revelation.  It  is  even  capable, 
like  Revelation,  of  casting  light  upon  the  future  with 
a  voice  as  truly  prophetic  as  any  that  ever  fell  from 
the  lips  of  inspired  seer. 

******** 

To  the  Evangelical  Lutheran,  Ecclesiastical  His- 
tory is  of  especial  and  peculiar  interest.  Identified 
with  a  Church  that  effected  the  greatest  and  most  ben- 
eficent revolution  of  modern  times ;  a  Church  that  has 
ever  stood  in  the  van  of  the  great  Protestant  host;  a 

17  (257) 


258  THE   HIGHER    ROCK. 

Church  which  undeniably  holds  its  place  in  history  as 
the  largest  in  numbers,  the  most  scriptural  in  doctrine,, 
most  evangelical  in  life,  he  may  find  himself  amid 
surroundings  and  teachings,  which,  if  he  be  ignorant 
of  her  true  historic  position,  will  lead  him  to  very  hum- 
ble and  very  false  views  of  that  great  body  of  Chris- 
tendom of  which  he  forms  a  part.  Our  preachers  and; 
our  people  need  at  this  day  nothing  so  much  as  a  thor- 
ough acquaintance  with  the  Church  of  their  fathers. 
It  would  immeasurably  heighten  their  appreciation  of 
her  and  stimulate  in  their  hearts  that  sacred  reverence 
for  parentage  and  worth,  which  is  one  of  the  broadest 
requirements  of  the   Ten   Commandments. 

To  surrender  a  birth-right  for  a  mess  of  pottage, 
is  not  a  transaction  so  unheard  of  as  to  awaken  much^ 
surprise.  The  stupid  and  sacrilegious  bargain  of  Esau 
who  despised  the  inestimable  honors  to  which  he  was 
born,  and  exchanged  them  for  a  low,  momentary  grat- 
ification, has  been  repeated  again  and  again  by  poor- 
human  frailty,  ever  more  intent  on  present  gain  than, 
on  future  good.  And  if  here  and  there  in  some  prom- 
inent localities,  the  tempting  pottage  has  come  in  the 
shape  of  large  numbers,  greater  wealth,  or  more  fash- 
ionable associations,  and  a  few  Lutherans  hungering 
for  these  things  have  ignobly  bartered  away  their  birth- 
right, it  ought  to  excite  no  astonishment  and  possibly 
no  regret.  But  it  may  be  safely  stated,  that  rarely  has^ 
such  an  unworthy  exchange  been  made  by  men,  wha- 
had  any  considerable  knowledge  of  the  true  char- 
acter of  their  church,  or  of  her  honored  place  in  his- 
tory.    Even   Esau    would   have  held  on   to   his  birth- 


THE    VALUE   OF    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY.        259 

right,   in  spite  of  his  hunger,  liad  he   known   its   full 
value  and  significance. 

We  propose  to  consider: 

THE   VALUE   OF   ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY    TO   THE 
LUTHERAN   CHURCH. 

It  teaches, 

I.      THE    SIGNIFICANCE   OF    HER    EXISTENCE. 

There  exists  an  organization,  with  all  the  equip- 
ments of  a  magnificent  hierarchy,  with  the  prestige  of 
a  hoary  antiquity,  with  an  unbroketL  undisputed,  out- 
ward connection  with  the  men  who  established  Chris- 
tianity throughout  the  world.  This  organization  has 
always  claimed  to  be  the  Church  of  Christ,  not  a  frac- 
tion or  a  component  part  merely  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  but  the  Church  itself,  the  alone  universal 
Christian  Church,  outside  of  which  there  is  no  salva- 
tion. Her  right  to  this  title  was  never  called  in  ques- 
tion before  the  Lutheran  Church  sprang  into  existence 
and  wrested  from  her  control  the  best  part  of  Chris- 
tendom. 

What  authority  was  there  for  such  a  procedure? 
What  warrant  for  this  revolt  from  the  Catholic  body? 
What  ground  have  Luther  and  his  followers  for  any 
claims  to  be  a  true  Church  ?  What  confidence  do  her 
pretensions  deserve?  Men  have  renounced  her  pale 
and  cast  themselves  into  the  arms  of  the  Romish 
Church  under  the  persuasion  that  she  alone  possessed 
authority  ;  yielding  to  the  assumptions  that  by  virtue 
of  a  true  historical  succession  she  was  essentially  and 
alone  the  Church  of  God. 


26o  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

Without  the  Hght  of  History,  these  questions 
might  be  perplexing  enough.  It  would,  perhaps,  even 
be  difficult  to  prove  the  answer  of  an  illiterate  Lutheran 
layman  who,  when  asked  by  a  Catholic  priest,  "Where 
was  your  church  before  the  Reformation?"  replied, 
■"Where  your  hands  were  before  you  washed  them." 

The  services  of  Ecclesiastical  History  are  here  in- 
valuable. From  it  we  learn,  in  the  first  instance,  what 
was  the  primitive  Church  founded  by  Jesus  Christ,  out 
of  what  elements  and  by  what  agencies  she  was  brought 
into  being,  what  constituted  her  charter,  and  what  were 
her  characteristics.  It  shows  us,  in  the  second  place, 
how  at  a  later  period  the  constitution  of  the  Church 
was  gradually  subverted,  her  vital  elements,  one  by 
one,  displaced,  her  charter  violated,  and  her  whole 
character  changed.  The  faithful,  impartial  pen  of  his- 
tory tells  us  how,  when  the  sacred  vessel  to  which  the 
Redeemer  had  entrusted  the  precious  cargo  of  salva- 
tion had  been  loaded  down  with  a  vast  heap  of  foreign 
freight,  her  compass  disjointed,  her  instructions  ig- 
nored, her  course  altered,  and  her  whole  interior  from 
stem  to  stern  and  from  keel  to  cabin  polluted,  there 
arose,  along  with  Luther,  a  body  of  men  who  had  taken 
passage,  and  who,  having  long  contemplated,  with 
alarm  and  sorrow,  the  inevitable  wreck  to  which  they 
were  drifting,  determined  to  rescue  the  grand  old 
craft,  to  steer  by  the  positive  instructions  of  the  Mas- 
ter, to  cast  overboard  the  weight  of  debris  that  was 
sinking  the  vessel,  to  cleanse  out  the  foul  matter  that 
was  rotting  her  timbers,  and  bring  back  the  vessel  into 
her  heavenward  course. 


THE   VALUE   OF    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY.        261 

At  her  outset,  for  instance,  the  Church  had  Jesus 
Christ  for  her  sole,  abiding  and  unchangeable  Head, 
and  the  highest  authority  ever  assumed  by  those  who 
held  their  commission  immediately  from  Him,  was 
that  of  servants  charged  with  the  oversight  of  the  flock, 
but  disclaiming  all  lordship  over  God's  heritage.  Be- 
fore the  Reformation,  however,  things  had  come  to 
such  a  pass,  that  the  Bishop  of  Rome  claimed  to  be  the 
absolute  head  of  the  Church,  from  whose  authority 
there  was  no  appeal,  and  who  dispensed  the  rewards 
and  penalties  of  eternity  after  his  own  pleasure. 

Again,  in  the  beginning,  God  had  provided  "one 
Mediator  between  God  and  man,  the  man  Christ  Jesus," 
to  whom  access  was  so  free  and  immediate  that  the 
chief  of  sinners  might  unreservedly  approach  Him. 
Now,  men  were  denied  all  access  to  this  very  Mediator, 
except  through  the  Priest,  the  Church,  and  the  Virgin, 

The  Church  had  been  entrusted  with  the  Holy 
Scriptures  as  the  fountain  of  light  for  the  soul,  as  the 
charter  for  her  government,  the  armor  for  her  tri- 
umphs, and  the  infallible  guide  for  doctrine  and  prac- 
tice to  the  individual  believer.  But  this  light  had  been 
entirely  removed  from  the  people,  and  in  the  darkness 
which  ensued  the  blind  had  none  but  the  blind  to  lead 
them. 

Among  the  clearest  teachings  of  the  Gospel  is  the 
principle,  that  prayer  is  to  be  offered  to  God  alone,  and 
the  promise  of  salvation  is  given  to  every  one  that  calls 
upon  the  name  of  the  Lord.  But,  for  a  prayer-hearing 
God,   Rome  had   substituted   a   prayer-hearing  Virgin 


262  THE   HIGHER    ROCK. 

and  a  number  of  prayer-hearing  Saints,  who  were  ex- 
pected to  bring  relief  to  needy  and  weary  souls. 

The  office  of  priestly  intercession  for  others  had 
been  devolved  upon  the  whole  body  of  believers,  Christ 
having  constituted  His  people  "a  Kingdom  of  Priests," 
but  this  chartered  privilege,  inherent  in  all  saving  faith, 
was  wrested  from  individual  believers  and  restricted 
to  a  special  order  of  men  who  used  it  mostly  for  the 
ends  of  filthy  lucre. 

The  offer  of  forgiveness  had,  by  specific  instruc- 
tion, been  made  universal,  on  condition  of  heart  repent- 
ance and  faith  in  Christ,  but  this  method  of  salvation 
had  been  largely  abolished,  and  the  policy  of  indul- 
gences which  made  sin  and  salvation  marketable  com- 
modities, had  taken  its  place. 

The  Redeemer  had  most  positively  inculcated  the 
truth  that  His  Kingdom  was  not  of  this  world,  but 
under  the  Papacy  it  had  become  so  completely  identi- 
fied with  the  world,  and  so  thoroughly  penetrated  witli 
its  spirit,  that  it  exercised  a  grinding  tyranny  over  all 
the  civilized  governments  in  Christendom. 

So  completely  had  the  Church,  in  all  its  vital  ele- 
ments, receded  from  her  primitive  and  divinely  or- 
dained character,  that,  externally  she  could  no  longer 
be  recognized  as  the  Church  which  Jesus  Christ  had 
founded,  the  Church  of  the  first  centuries  of  the  Chris- 
tian era,  while  inwardly  "the  whole  head  was  sick,  and 
the  whole  heart  faint." 

Every  history  of  that  age.  Catholic  as  well  as 
Protestant,  admits   the  fearful  degeneracy  into  which 


THE   VALUE   OF    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY.       263 

the  whole  ecclesiastical  organism,  pope,  prelates  and 
priests,  had  sunk.  "The  evil  could  not  become 
greater."  The  Church  had  ceased  to  command  any 
respect  or  exert  any  moral  influence  over  the  masses. 
The  enlightened  mind  of  the  age  turned  away  from  her 
with  disgust,  and  her  noblest  representatives  had,  for 
centuries,  felt  the  crying  need  of  a  thorough  reforma- 
tion in  head  and  members.  Three  consecutive  coun- 
-cils,  at  Pisa,  at  Constance,  and  Basle,  had  been  called 
•expressly  with  a  view  of  doing  something  to  arrest  the 
growing  corruption  and  the  rapid  decay  of  the  Church ; 
.and,  though  led  by  such  able  spirits  as  Gerson,  Nicho- 
las of  Cusa,  Lx)uis  D'AUemand,  Gregory  of  Heimburg, 
and  .tineas  Sylvius  Picollomini,  their  efforts  proved 
uniformly  and  utterly  abortive.  Luther,  therefore, 
without  a  thought  of  withdrawing  from  the  existing 
hierarchical  organization,  without  the  remotest  idea  of 
establishing  an  independent  denomination  or  sect,  and 
without  any  hostility  to  the  Pope,  or  any  purpose  to 
disturb  the  Church,  simply  entered  upon  the  work, 
wdiich  many  brave  and  able  minds  had  openly  at- 
tempted before  him,  but  which  by  reason  of  the  appall- 
ing obstacles,  and  the  terrific  opposition  to  be  encoun- 
tered, they  had  abandoned  in  despair.  Where  others 
-had  failed,  he  succeeded,  comprehending  more  clearly 
than  they  the  depth  of  the  disorder,  understanding 
better,  through  personal  experience,  the  nature  of  the 
remedy,  possessing  the  indomitable  courage  to  defy 
opposition,  and  the  faith  of  an  Apostle  to  make  God 
his  helper.  The  triumph  of  his  effort  was  not  a  de- 
parture from  the  Church,  but  a  return  to  her  shining 


264  THE   HIGHER    ROCK. 

paths — a  rebuilding  upon  her  original  foundation — a 
reafhmiation  of  her  true  principles,  a  restoration  of  her 
primitive  purity,  a  reformation  of  her  doctrine  and 
life.  Jesus  Christ  was  once  more  enthroned  in  the 
Church  as  her  sole  Head  and  Sovereign  Lord,  and  His 
word  replaced  as  the  supreme  authority  for  faith  and 
conduct.  The  old  Gospel  was  again  preached  to  the 
world,  calling  men  to  repentance  for  their  sins,  pro- 
claiming Christ  as  the  one  Mediator  with  God,  guar- 
anteeing justification  through  faith  alone,  abolishing  all 
worship  except  that  offered  to  God  in  spirit  and  in 
truth,  rescuing  from  a  usurping  Order  the  privileges 
of  the  universal  priesthood  of  believers,  and  breaking 
all  the  shackles  which  superstition  had  forged  and 
fastened  around  the  necks  of  God's  free-born  children. 
It  was  in  the  successful  endeavor  to  effect  these 
changes,  the  general  features  of  which  had  been  long 
and  almost  universally  felt  to  be  necessary,  that  the 
Lutheran  Church  came  into  distinctive  being.  It  was 
the  inexorable  hostility  to  such  a  movement,  on  the 
part  of  the  Romish  Hierarchy,  which  had  for  ages 
controlled  and  enslaved  the  Church,  that  led  to  a  sep- 
aration of  the  two  elements,  the  former  contending  for 
the  authority  of  Christ  and  His  Gospel  in  His  own 
Church,  and  the  inalienable  liberty  of  all  true  members 
of  the  Church,  the  other  fighting  for  hierarchical  as- 
sumptions, for  a  corrupt  and  effete  system  of  mechan- 
ical religion  and  for  the  various  infernal  institutions 
which  oppress  the  conscience  and  hold  captive  the  im- 
mortal mind  ;  the  former  coming  to  bear  the  name  of 


THE    VALUE   OF    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY.        265 

the  Evai\2:elical  Lutheran  Church,  the  latter  the  desig- 
nation of  Roman  CathoHc. 

A  reformed  Christianity  owes  to  the  Lutheran 
Church  its  emancipation  from  papal  bondage  and  me- 
diaeval darkness.  The  free  countries  of  the  civilized 
world  recognized  in  Luther  the  champion  of  modem 
liberty,  and  cannot  deny,  if  they  wished  to,  that  it  was 
the  principles  maintained  by  the  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Church, w'hich  raised  a  continent  from  deep  degradation 
to  a  high  pedestal  of  enlightenment  and  progress.  She 
has  not  only  a  sacred  claim  upon  the  esteem,  the  hon- 
est pride  and  devotion  to  her  children,  but  has  won  for 
herself  an  immortal  title  to  the  gratitude  and  respect 
of  her  sister  denominations  and  to  the  praises  of 
mankind. 

n.       ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY  SETTLES  THE  QUESTION  OF 
LUTHERAN     IDENTITY. 

Serious  effects  are  likely  to  be  produced  upon  all 
social  institutions  by  the  lapse  of  years.  The  name 
may  be  retained  long  after  the  substance  has  been  lost. 
Of  this  the  Catholic  Church  affords  a  striking  illustra- 
tion. She  had  given  up  so  many  purely  Christian  ele- 
ments, she  had  admitted  so  many  foreign  ingredients, 
she  had  substituted  so  many  human  inventions  for 
divine  ordinances,  that  the  Hierarchy  which  still  bore 
her  honored  name  in  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  cen- 
turies had  but  little  to  identify  her  with  the  Church  of 
the  first  ages  of  Christianity.  It  is  doubtful  whether 
Paul  and  Peter,  could  they  have  seen  the  Papacy  of  that 
age,  would  have  recognized  in  it  the  Church  which  they 


266  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

took  SO  large  a  part  in  founding.  The  Romish  Church, 
at  all  events,  would  hardly  have  recognized  them. 

All  churches  not  willing  to  follow  blindly  the  as- 
sumptions of  self-constituted  leaders,  or  to  submit  to 
the  arrogance  of  particular  sections  or  fractions,  are 
forced  from  time  to  time  to  inquire  into  their  ecclesias- 
tical identity,  to  establish  by  historic  facts  the  constitu- 
ent elements  that  distinguish  them  from  other  eccle- 
siastical communions,  and  to  define  the  limits  within 
which  men  have  liberty  of  thought  and  action  without 
forfeiting  their  title. 

With  the  Lutherans,  this  question  is  one  of  present 
and  intensely  practical  importance.  The  general  pub- 
lic seems  to  have  considerable  difficulty  in  finding  out 
what  is  Lutheranism,  and  who  the  Lutherans  really  are. 
It  is  still  a  common  impression  that  their  one  charac- 
teristic is  Consubstantiation.  This  error  and  slander 
we  usually  attribute  to  the  supreme  ignorance  of 
Church  History,  which  prevails  in  spite  of  all  the  The- 
ological Seminaries.  But  the  slowness  of  those  who 
are  not  of  us,  to  ascertain  the  characteristics  of  the 
Lutheran  Church,  may  be  borne  with  charitably,  in  the 
face  of  existing  diversities  of  view  upon  the  subject 
among  ourselves.  We  have,  for  instance,  in  this 
country  the  spectacle  of  a  party  claiming  to  contain 
all  the  Lutheranism  upon  earth — assuming  to  be  alone 
the  identical  Church  in  which  Luther,  Melanchthon, 
the  Gerhardts,  Arndt  and  Spener  were  shining  lights ; 
and  withal  so  confident  in  their  assumption,  that  they 
have  closed  their  altars  and  their  pulpits  against  all 
access  to  those  who  are  merely  "so-called"  Lutherans. 


THE    VALUK   OK    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY.        267 

This  is  the  attitude  of  an  infinitesimal  fraction  over 
against  the  vast  body  of  the  Church — a  few  thousands 
against  many  miUions. 

Others  again  projxjse  a  platform  for  genuine 
Lutheran  identity,  not  only  the  whole  of  the  Symbolical 
Books,  but  their  acceptance  in  "every  statement  of 
doctrine  in  their  own  true,  native,  original  and  only 
sense.''  i.  e.,  the  sense  which  these  give  to  them.  This 
platform  men  set  up  as  a  synonym  for  Lutheranism. 
Whoever  does  not  stand  on  it  with  them  is  not  in  the 
Lutheran  Church.  To  differ  from  them,  is  to  differ 
from  the  Church.  They  who  oppose  them  oppose  the 
Church.  They  who  revolt  from  their  yoke  revolt 
against  the  Church. 

What  court,  then,  is  to  decide  the  relative  right  of 
any  of  these  to  he  identified  with  the  Lutheran  Church? 
There  is  but  one  tribunal  to  which  this  question  can 
be  appealed.  The  judgment  of  history  is  alone  capable 
of  deciding  the  merits  of  these  assumptions  and  claims, 
and  it  doubtless  does  render  invaluable  services  on  this 
very  subject. 

History  knows  such  an  institution  as  the  Evangel- 
ical Lutheran  Church,  and  she  ought  to  be  able  to 
answer  such  questions  as  these :  How  compact  has  been 
her  organism,  how  diverse  her  elements,  how  uniform 
her  principles,  how  varied  her  statements  of  doctrine? 
What  liberty  has  been  allowed  her  teachers  and  preach- 
ers, and  at  what  point  did  they  cease  to  be  acknowl- 
edged as  constituent  members?  Has  her  platform 
been  always  so  narrow  as  to  have,  age  after  age.  room 
for  such  only  as  could  agree  in  the  detailed  definitions 


268  THE   HIGHER    ROCK. 

of  every  doctrine — aye,  agree  so  fully  that  they  were 
capable  of  exhausting  the  illimitable  store-house  of 
truth,  and  yet  find  terms  and  unite  in  using  them,  in 
but  one  "true,  native,  original,  and  only  sense?" 

Whatever  be  the  pretensions,  at  present,  of  any 
particular  class  in  considering  itself  alone  the  pure 
Evangelical  Lutheran  Church,  it  remains  for  History 
to  establish  what  has  constituted  the  unity  and  identity 
of  that  Church  from  the  days  of  the  Reformers.  There 
certainly  has  been  somewhere,  ever  suice  the  Reform- 
ation, a  true  Lutheran  Church,  an  unbroken,  historical 
succession  of  Christian  people,  professing  to  be,  and 
known  to  the  world  as  being,  the  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Church.  In  what  did  their  Lutheranism  necessarily 
consist?  What  made  and  kept  them  a  proper,  constit- 
uent part  of  the  Church  ?  What  light  do  the  clear  and 
sober  facts  of  History  throw  upon  the  subject  of  Luth- 
eran identity? 

The  collation  of  historic  proofs — for  the  sake  of 
brevity — is  limited  to  a  period  of  two  hundred  years, 
commencing  with  the  Reformation — that  extent  of  His- 
tory being  amply  sufficient  to  bring  out  and  establish 
the  constituent  and  distinctive  character  of  a  Church. 
From  the  records  of  this  period,  it  becomes  manifest, 
with  the  clearness  of  sunlight,  that  the  Church,  even 
through  her  very  infancy,  and  all  along  up  to  the  vigor 
and  maturity  of  her  greatest  strength  and  highest  devel- 
opment, has  been  subject,  like  all  great  bodies  of  think- 
ing men,  to  two  tendencies ;  that  it  has  always  consisted 
of  at  least  two  parties,  the  one  rigid  and  extreme,  the 
other  moderate  and   liberal,   and   that   in   consequence 


THE   VALUE   OF   ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY.       269 

extensive  and  often  violent  controversies  have,  from 
time  to  time,  raged  within  her  pale. 

These  two  divergent  tendencies  first  appear  simul- 
taneously with  the  Reformation.  There  was  a  party, 
then,  who  considered  Melanchthon  too  lax  and  un- 
sound, who  made  severe  and  bitter  assaults  upon  his 
orthodoxy,  who  abhorred  his  concessions  to  Rome  on 
the  one  side,  and  the  Reformed  on  the  other,  and  who 
did  their  utmost  to  turn  Luther  against  him  and  have 
him  repudiated.  But  Luther  was  neither  so  narrow 
nor  so  stupid  as  to  perpetrate  such  a  blunder.  He 
knew  Melanchthon  better  than  they  did.  He  knew  him 
to  be  sound  at  heart.  He  knew  him  to  be  right  in  the 
main,  and  in  the  stomis  which  raged  around  the  imper- 
illed Church,  he  considered  his  services  too  indispens- 
able to  think  of  dropping  him  overboard.  He  would 
rather  bear  with  much  that  he  himself  disapproved 
than  lose  the  invaluable  help  of  this  man  in  the  cause 
he  was  leading. 

The  points  of  dilTerence  w^ere  not  on  subjects 
which  Lutherans  could  regard  as  non-essential  or  on 
mere  scholastic  subtleties,  but  they  were  questions  of 
the  highest  practical  importance.  Between  the  liberal 
party  of  Melanchthon  and  the  others,  there  was  a  vast 
difference.  "From  the  very  commencement,  there  ap- 
peared (in  Melanchthon  and  his  school)  a  party  tend- 
ing towards  Calvinism."  But  great  as  was  the  dif- 
ference between  the  opposing  parties,  Luther's  heart 
was  large  enough  to  take  in  all  of  them,  and  while  he 
could  not  take  in  the  Zwinglians,  persuaded  that  "they 
had  another  spirit,"  yet  he  continued  up  to  the  end  to 


270  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

love  a  Melanchthon,  who  had  dared  to  alter  the  great 
Confession  on  the  darHng  doctrine  of  the  Lutherans, 
who  was  all  the  time  working  for  a  reunion  of  all  par- 
ties, now  Calvinizing,  now  Romanizing,  who  was  the 
great  Unionist  of  the  Reformation,  and  who  subse- 
quently prepared  and   subscribed  the  Leipsic   Interim. 

^  >1;  >}-  ;'j;  ;|<  ;|:  ;;<  ;!; 

It  would  indeed  be  a  bold,  but  hardly  a  sane  man, 
that  would  deny  Melanchthon  a  deserved  place  in  the 
Lutheran  Church. 

Again,  John  Agricola  made  a  violent  attack  upon 
Melanchthon's  Articles  of  \'isitation  for  the  Saxon 
Churches,  because  they  contained  instructions  to  the 
clergy  to  preach  the  law  to  the  masses.  This  position 
he  denounced  as  inculcating  a  legal  morality,  and  in- 
compatible with  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith. 
The  Reformers,  however,  did  not  withdraw  their  fel- 
lowship from  one  who  differed  so  radically  from  them. 
Luther  easily  adjusted  the  quarrel.  The  assailant  of 
Lutheran  teachings  became  a  Professor  at  Wittenberg! 
Here  he  proceeded  by  word  and  pen  most  zealously  to 
degrade  the  authority  of  the  law,  insisting  upon  its 
entire  abrogation,  denying  it  a  place  in  the  pulpit,  and 
styling  it  the  way  to  the  devil,  in  direct  opposition  to 
Luther's  customary  teachings  and  emphatic  expres- 
sions on  the  subject,  he  having  always  attached  the 
highest  importance  to  the  law  as  a  means  of  leading 
sinners  to  Christ,  mortifying  the  flesh  and  producing 
good  works. 

Here  are  two  prominent  Reformers  in  conflict  with 


THE   VALUE   OF   ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY.       27 1 

each  other  on  so  grave  a  question  as  the  moral  law, 
teaching  in  the  same  University,  preaching  from  the 
same  pulpit,  and  communing  at  the  same  altar. 

An  Osiander  could  teach  that  justification  was  a 
subjective,  therapeutic  transition,  the  impartation  of 
an  internal  righteousness,  contending  against  those 
who  maintained  the  imputation  of  Christ's  righteous- 
ness. He  thus,  in  point  of  language  at  least,  differed 
in  toto  from  the  Lutlieran  Church  on  her  central  doc- 
trine, yet  had  no  idea  of  renouncing  the  Church,  and 
remained  in  her  communion,  unmolested,  except  in  the 
matter  of  controversial  attacks,  to  the  day  of  his  death. 
Instead  of  casting  him  out,  efforts  were  made  from 
every  quarter,  by  Morlin,  iSIelanchthon,  Brenz  and 
others  who  differed  from  him,  to  point  out  the  nature 
of  his  error,  to  adjust  the  difficulty,  to  harmonize  di- 
vergent views  and  to  come  to  an  understanding. 

While  Luther  lived,  his  powerful  genius  and  influ- 
ence could  hold  all  parties  together,— and  no  one  ever 
understood  better  than  he  how  to  estimate  and  treat 
germs  of  error  and  how  to  allay  the  storm  of  opposing 
parties— but  after  he  was  gone  the  rigid  party,  con- 
cerned quite  as  much  for  the  form  in  which  Luther  had 
taught  his  doctrines  as  for  the  doctrines  themselves, 
made  unrelenting  war  upon  the  more  liberal  Melanch- 
thonian  School.  And  from  the  clash  of  these  two  doc- 
trinal tendencies,  extending  through  the  whole  Church, 
and  which  Guericke  admits  had  for  a  long  time  existed 
side  by  side  with  all  "diversity  of  form,  yet  in  beautiful 
unitv  of  the  spirit,"  there  arose  a  succession  of  con- 


272  THE    HIGHER   ROCK, 

troversies  which  continued  in  one  shape  or  other  up  to 
the  Form  of  Concord. 

In  the  dispute  on  the  Adiaphora,  Melanchthon, 
Bugenhagen,  Paul  Eber  and  Pfefifinger,  could  take  the 
ground  that  various  things  in  the  Romish  doctrine  and 
practices,  which  the  majority  of  Lutheran  theologians 
abhorred,  as  subversive  of  the  Gospel,  were  indiffer- 
ent and  immaterial.  So  decided  was  the  antagonism 
between  the  two,  and  so  jealous  was  the  rigid  party  of 
the  Melanchthonian  School,  regarding  every  expres- 
sion not  tallying"  with  Luther's  system  as  a  departure 
from  the  pure  doctrine,  that  they  required  a  new  Uni- 
versity at  Jena,  from  which  to  assail  the  errorists.  Yet 
History  designates  neither  party  as  a  new  sect  going 
out  from,  or  rising  up  against  the  Lutheran  Church. 

When  George  Major  taught  that  ''good  works  are 
necessary  to  salvation,"  and  Amsdorf,  in  strong  lan- 
guage, denounced  this  position  as  overthrowing  the 
doctrine  of  justification  through  grace  alone,  the  strife 
which  became  almost  universal,  and  lasted  for  ten 
years,  was  all  within  the  Lutheran  Church,  i.  e.,  al- 
though differing  so  widely,  both  parties  were  Luther- 
ans. And  truly  the  Majorists'  title  to  the  Lutheran 
name  was  quite  as  good  as  that  of  the  ultra  party, 
whose  leader  maintained  that  "good  works  are  detri- 
mental to  salvation." 

A  doctrinal  conflict  of  still  greater  importance 
arose  subsequently  between  the  two  tendencies,  involv- 
ing such  questions  as  human  depravity,  divine  grace, 
the  Lord's  Supper,  and  the  person  of  Christ.  The 
one  party  accorded  to  the  will  some  active  participa- 


THE   VALUE    OF    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY.        273 

tion  in  the  work  of  conversion,  tended  towards  senii- 
Pelagianisni  on  the  doctrine  of  total  depravity,  main- 
tained that  in  the  Encharist  it  was  sufficient  to  hold 
fast  the  presence  of  Christ,  without  defining  whether 
it  be  a  corporeal  presence  or  not,  hoping  that  this  con- 
cession would  be  sufficient  to  unite  all  the  elements  of 
the  Reformation,  Calvin's  agency  having  brought  the 
Swiss  doctrine  very  much  nearer  to  the  Lutheran.  The 
broaching  of  such  doctrines  of  course  called  out  the 
other  side,  who,  to  save  the  Church  from  being  led 
astray  by  these  views,  prepared  a  new  Confession  of 
Faith  for  Ducal  Saxony.  The  views  of  the  latter,  it 
is  true,  finally  prevailed  everywhere,  and  became  the 
doctrine  of  the  entire  Church,  yet  the  men  who  had 
led  the  opposition,  have  ever  been  esteemed  as  pil- 
lars in  the  Church,  quite  as  much  so  as  Wigand, 
Amsdorf,  Heshusius.  and  Flacius,  the  latter  of  whom 
had  gone  to  such  lengths  as  to  teach  that  Original  Sin 
was  an  essence  of  human  nature  and  not  an  accident. 

The  conception  of  the  Form  of  Concord  arose  from 
the  desire  to  unite  the  two  parties,  to  harmonize  ex- 
tremes, and  the  superior  minds  of  both  sides  joined  in 
the  efifort.  For,  although  largely  directed  against  the 
Melanchthonian  and  Calvinistic  deflections  from  rigid 
Lutheranism,  yet  at  the  same  time  it  was  aimed  at 
that  hyper-Lutheranism  which  was  building  up  a  sys- 
tem, to  a  great  extent,  in  opposition  to  oecumenical 
Christianity,  a  tendency  whose  champions  formed  a 
stronger  antagonism  to  the  Form  of  Concord,  than  the 
lax  views  of  the  other  party.  This  eflFort  at  "Con- 
cord" brought  out,  in  a  measure,  what  universal  experi- 
18 


274  I'HE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

ence  teaches  of  such  autagonisms,  that  each  of  the  con- 
tending parties  had  one  side  of  the  truth,  as,  for  in- 
stance, on  good  works,  the  Law  and  the  Adiaphora. 

Others  again  were  too  much  attached  to  Melanch- 
thon  to  be  satisfied  with  the  Form  of  Concord.  Some 
countries  could  not  adopt  it  for  a  long  while,  and  some 
never  did,  yet  all  these  have  alike  been  classified  as 
Lutheran  countries,  and  some  of  the  latter  are  to  this 
day  decidedly  more  Lutheran  than  others  which  with- 
out hesitation  adopted  it.  The  pursuit  and  supposed 
attainment  of  perfect  agreement  in  doctrine  did  not 
yield  such  fruit  as  entitled  it  to  be  prized  above  all 
things.  Lutheran  Theology  became  a  synonym  for 
dialectic  Scholasticism.  The  warm  life  of  the  doctrines 
of  the  Reformation  was  transformed  into  an  ossified 
system,  which  had,  to  a  great  extent,  been  established 
by  the  Form  of  Concord.  The  free  and  energetic  de- 
velopment of  Theology  out  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  was 
repressed,  and  as  a  substitute  for  the  living  Faith  main- 
tained by  the  Reformers,  there  was  with  many  Lutheran 
teachers  from  this  period  onward,  a  palsied  and  dead 
orthodoxy,  a  show  of  faith  without  the  fruit  of  the 
Spirit.  To  them  it  was  enough  to  hold  rigidly  to  mere 
outward,  theoretical,  established  forms  of  faith,  with 
little  concern  for  the  renewal  of  mind  and  spirit. 

"In  this  crisis  of  the  Lutheran  Church,"  says  our 
great  historian,  "pious,  learned  and  essentially  ortho- 
dox theologians  arose,  who  knew  how  to  provide  for 


THE   VALUE   OF    ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY.        275 

the  general  religious  wants  in  a  practical  and  truly 
evangelical  manner,  opposing  dead  orthodoxy  with  the 
divine  armor  of  a  pure  and  practical  Christianity.  At 
the  head  of  this  worthy  list  stood  the  Fenelon  of  the 
Lutheran  Church,  the  eminent  John  Arndt.''  His 
whole  work,  however,  was  in  direct  opposition  to  the 
assumption  of  hyper-Lutheranism,  and  he  was  shame- 
fully assailed  by  many  of  the  rigid  orthodox,  whose 
scent  for  heresy  had  become  so  acute  that  they  could 
discover  false  doctrine  and  the  most  dangerous  errors 
where  the  most  holy  and  thoroughly  enlightened  men 
were  proclaiming  the  pure  doctrines,  without,  however, 
using  the  traditional  and  worn-out  terminology  of  the 
schools,  or  "binding  themselves  strictly  to  the  expres- 
sions of  the  Form  of  Concord."  The  Church  was 
warned  against  the  poison  of  Arndt,  his  writings  were 
said  to  overflow  with  Romanism,  Calvinism,  Flaccian- 
ism,  Schwenkfeldtianism,  &c. — all  this  too,  when  he 
had  been  a  martyr  to  the  Lutheran  faith.  Even  a  John 
Gerhardt,  whose  Lutheranism  did  not  deter  him  from 
defending  certain  persons  charged  with  grave  errors, 
escaped  not  the  suspicion  and  attacks  of  this  rigid 
school  who  alone  had  the  true  Lutheran  doctrine. 

There  might  be  added  an  array  of  illustrious 
names,  all  of  whom  fell  more  or  less  under  the  ban  of 
the  strict  Lutherans,  and  sometimes  too  with  good 
ground,  yet  were  all  these  parties,  in  common,  recog- 
nized as  being  in  the  Lutheran  fold.  In  spite  of  their 
divergence  from  the  rigid  formulas  of  orthodoxy,  and 
their  condemnation  by  the  so-called  orthodox,  even  a 
Guericke  prizes  them  as  "individual  beams  of  the  pure 


276  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

evangelical  light  and  life  that  was  rising  ever  more 
and  more  in  the  Lutheran  Church," — heavenly  rays 
which  preceded  the  glorious,  living  light  which  came 
to  the  Church  under  Spener. 

This  great  divine  stood  in  such  antagonism  to  the 
existing  state  of  things,  that  although  the  Church  held 
rigidly  to  her  Confessions,  he  regarded  a  new  refor- 
mation as  imperatively  called  for.  He  charged  that 
the  practical  and  biblical  course  of  the  Reformers  had 
been  abandoned,  that  theology  had  become  a  matter 
of  mere  scholastic  speculation,  that  justification  by 
faith,  as  then  taught,  was  bald  Antinomianism,  and 
showed  that,  with  all  the  loud  ado  for  Lutheran  Or- 
thodoxy, the  fundamental  idea  of  primitive  Christianity 
and  of  primitive  Lutheranism,  the  universal  priesthood 
of  believers,  had  sunk  into  oblivion.  His  clear  concep- 
tion of  the  great  want  of  the  Church,  which  existed  in 
spite  of  her  boasted  pure  faith,  his  efforts  for  a  revival 
of  the  living  godliness  which  had  characterized  the 
Lutheranism  of  the  Reformation,  his  contending  for 
exegetical  studies  which  had  been  crowded  out  of  the 
Universities,  brought  down  upon  him  the  ridicule  and 
the  rage  of  the  High-Church  party.  And  thus  broke 
out  the  Pietistic  Controversy.  So  fierce  was  the  oppo- 
sition to  the  teachings  of  Spener  and  his  co-ad jutors. 
that  a  new  University — at  Halle — had  to  be  founded 
for  the  defence  of  their  evangelical  and  liberal  views. 

The  Pietists  were  confessedly  not  solicitous  for 
purity  of  doctrine,  not  indeed  directly  opposing  it,  but 
laying  aside,  as  needless  for  edification,  many  indi- 
vidual   dogmas    and    dogmatic    definitions,    which    led 


THE    VALUE   OF    ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY.       277 

them  to  be  accused  of  a  pernicious  theological  and 
religious  indifferentisni.  "This,  however,  was  almost 
everywhere  nothing  more  than  a  freer,  evangelical  ac- 
tivity of  the  theological  spirit,  which  possessed  of  a 
vital  agreement  in  all  essentials,  was  ready  to  forego 
an  exact  uniformity  in  all  matters  less  essential  for 
practical  life.''  They  were  concerned  primarily  not  for 
purity  of  doctrine,  but  for  purity  of  life,  while  the 
others  in  their  triumph  over  the  possession  of  pure  doc- 
trine, often  forgot  the  life  altogether  and  completely 
separated  theolog}'  from  Christian  living  and  morality. 
Such  orthodoxy  would  of  course  brand  Pietism  as  a 
"newly-risen  heresy."  And  the  Faculty  of  Wittenberg 
put  forth  a  work,  in  which  they  proclaimed  Spener 
guilty  of  two  hundred  and  sixty-four  errors,  although 
the  latter  at  the  same  time  made  good  his  claim  of 
heartily  according  with  the  Augsburg  Confession. 

Was  Spener,  then,  a  Lutheran  ?  And  were  his 
antagonists  Lutherans,  too?  And  yet  Lutherans  must 
all  have  literally  the  same  faith  "in  every  statement  of 
doctrine?"  "Soon,"  says  Guericke,  "the  whole 
Lutheran  Church  was  again  divided  into  two  parties, 
each  claiming  to  hold  fast  pure  Lutheran  Orthodoxy," 
divided  on  such  questions  as  justification,  regeneration, 
sanctification,  the  spiritual  priesthood,  devotional  as- 
semblies, Christian  liberty,  the  need  of  confessions,  &c., 
&c.  So  far  from  expunging  the  eminent  names  of  the 
Pietists  from  the  bright  roll  of  Lutheran  heroes,  his- 
torians of  undoubted  confessional  loyalty,  have  ac- 
corded them  the  highest  praises  for  their  services  tO' 
the  truth  anfl  to  the  Church.    Thev  candidlv  admit  that 


278  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

their  positions  were  misunderstood  and  misrepresented, 
that  amid  the  calm  light  which  succeeded  the  storm, 
right  and  wrong,  truth  and  error,  were  found  to  be 
pretty  equally  divided  between  the  two  opposing  par- 
ties, the  one  having  its  eye  chiefly  on  internal,  spiritual, 
practical  interests,  the  other  on  external,  literal,  me- 
chanical conformity  to  symbolic  definitions.  "The 
future  good  of  the  Church  could  have  been  secured 
and  promoted  only  by  the  reconciliation  of  the  two 
one-sided  extremes — a  golden  mean  true  to  the  entire 
evangelical  truth." 

So  bitter  had  been  the  hostility  to  Spener,  that  his 
enemies  could  not  think  of  him  after  death  as  being 
saved,  yet  he  left  in  the  example  of  his  career,  as  well 
as  in  the  treasures  of  his  writings,  a  legacy  to  his 
Church,  from  which  in  all  subsequent  ages  she  has  con- 
tinued to  derive  the  richest  aid  on  the  most  diverse  sub- 
jects of  doctrine  and  life.  "His  work  cannot  be  over- 
estimated." His  principles  and  his  party,  which  his 
enemies  for  a  long  time  could  not  think  of  tolerating, 
triumphed  completely.  With  their  triumph  there  arose 
a  new  life  in  the  Church,  which,  upon  the  testimony 
of  even  a  strict  Lutheran  like  Guericke,  compares  with 
the  results  which  followed  the  complete  triumph  of  the 
rigid  party,  after  the  Form  of  Concord,  as  the  day  com- 
pares with  the  night.  Then,  if  ever,  did  the  Church 
shine  in  her  true  beauty  and  glory.  "In  the  course  of 
a  few  decades,  the  six  thousand  students  which  had 
in  that  time  gone  forth  from  Halle,  bore  with  them  the 
seeds  of  a  newly  wakened  practical  Christianity,  and 
Germany  began  to  have  a  number  of  truly  pious  and, 


THE    VALUE   OF    ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY.       279 

at  the  same  time,  orthodox  j^rcachers,  and  active,  doc- 
trinally  enhghtened  laymen  to  an  extent  she  had  not 
possessed  for  many  years  before." 

Here,  then,  we  have  historic  Lutheranisni,  ever 
moving  forward  between  its  two  natural  and  normal 
poles,  ever  subject  to  two  tendencies  which  were  recip- 
rocally of  the  greatest  benefit  to  each  other  and  whose 
mutual  counteractions  have  been  of  infinite  value  to  the 
purity  and  progress  of  the  Church.  What  would 
Lutheranism  have  come  to  without  either  of  these  ele- 
ments ? 

Yet  numerous  and  great  as  the  differences  often 
were,  the  unity  of  the  Church  was  never  broken.  No 
sect  ever  went  out  from  her  pale.  Her  identity  as  rep- 
resented by  any  party  or  section,  was  never  questioned 
by  the  sober  historian.  The  theologians  waged  their 
controversies,  but  they  never  divided  the  Churches. 
This  fact  Lutheran  historians  have  regarded  as  a  pow- 
erful testimony  to  the  divine  foundation  and  evangeli- 
cal structure  of  our  Church,  which  presents  a  strong 
contrast  to  the  innumerable  divisions  and  sects  of  the 
Reformed  Churches.  Her  catholicity  has  been  among 
her  chief  glories.  With  an  ardent  and  unexampled  de- 
votion to  purity  of  doctrine,  and  therefore  jealous  of 
error  in  its  incipient  germs,  she  has  yet  been  so  tolerant 
to  independent  investigation  and  private  conviction,  as 
to  embrace  within  her  pale  men  of  the  most  diverse 
views — parties  that  could  be  arrayed  against  each  other 
in  violent  conflict,  yet  without  either  of  them  attacking 
the  body  of  the  faith.  Hence  we  have  the  extraordi- 
nary spectacle  of  a  Church  tolerating  widely  different 


a8o  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

views,  yet  never  giving  birth  to  any  actual  heresy  ;  her 
heart's  blood  so  pure  that  no  serious  deviation  from, 
the  truth  ever  had  a  following  within  her  borders ;  pos- 
sessing in  her  general  soundness  of  doctrines  such  a 
fullness  of  strength  as  to  be  able  to  cast  off  what  was 
actually  diseased  or  incurably  unsound,  without  remov- 
ing elements  that  at  first  gave  her  pain,  but  in  the  end 
proved  wholesome.  With  all  the  diversity  between  the 
rigid  and  liberal  schools  in  the  bosom  of  the  Church, 
whenever  men  were  carried  by  any  tendencies  beyond 
the  proper  boundaries  of  the  Lutheran  system,  or  de- 
spised essentially  Lutheran  doctrines,  they  naturally  and 
necessarily  were  separated  from  her  communion,  being 
either  removed  by  the  ecclesiastical  authorities,  or  else 
going  of  their  own  accord  where  they  belonged.  Thus 
she  wisely  maintained  the  evangelical  position  of  liberty 
between  papal  tyranny  and  rationalistic  license,  and 
became  pre-eminently,  and  without  a  rival,  the  Church 
of  pure  doctrine,  and  at  the  same  time  the  most  tolerant 
communion  of  Christendom. 

How  abnormal,  then,  the  present  condition  of  the 
Lutheran  Church,  with  her  numerous  divisions,  each 
more  or  less  hostile  to  all  the  others,  while  during  the 
first  two  centuries  of  her  existence,  with  all  the  bitter 
contentions  of  her  teachers,  the  Church  remained  a 
unit ! 

How  antagonistic  to  History  is  that  attitude  of 
exclusiveness  which  bars  from  the  Lord's  Table,  and 
from  the  pulpit,  all  who  will  not  submit  to  every  par- 
ticular of  doctrinal  interpretation,  when  the  Church  of 
our  fathers  did  not  withhold  the  sacrament  from  even  a. 


THE   VALUE   OF    ECCLESIASTICAL   HISTORY.        28 1 

fanatic  like  Jacob  Bohme,  and  suffered  an  Agricola  to 
preach  to  her  congregations  up  to  the  time  of  his 
death ! 

What  a  burlesque  upon  the  past  of  our  Church  is 
the  position  which  demands,  as  the  first  requisite  for 
fraternal  recognition  and  organic  unity,  perfect  agree- 
ment in  doctrine !  Such  agreement  was  never  known 
in  all  the  glorious  ages  of  our  history.  In  spite  of  the 
frequent  and  persistent  efforts  towards  such  an  ideal, 
the  life  and  liberty  begotten  of  a  living  faith  were 
always  too  strong  to  admit  of  its  realization. 

These  historic  lights  are  of  the  utmost  consequence 
to  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  of  to-day.  Her 
present  condition  cannot  continue.  This  prophecy  is 
based  upon  a  universal  conviction  which  bears  the  im- 
press of  inspiration.  Her  progress  cannot  be  a  healthy 
one,  her  true  interests  cannot  be  successfully  promoted 
as  long  as  the  house  is  divided  against  itself.  Let  her 
vast  forces  be  united,  let  her  great  work  be  carried  for- 
ward through  one  general  organization,  under  the  im- 
pulse of  a  common  faith  and  the  inspiration  of  a  com- 
mon history ;  and.  with  a  system  of  doctrine  the  purest 
in  Christenflom,  with  treasures  of  theological  science 
and  literature  the  richest  in  the  world,  with  a  field  at 
once  the  largest  and  the  most  promising  given  to  any 
body  of  Christians,  with  the  most  solid  and  substantial 
material  upon  which  to  operate,  there  is  no  other  de- 
nomination in  the  land  which  can  do  a  work  for  the 
Master  and  for  the  country,  such  as  that  which  every 
indication  of  Providence  assigns  to  the  Lutheran 
Church.     Let  her  but  stand   forth  as  the  Evangelical 


282  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

Lutheran  Church  of  history — sound  in  the  faith,  yet 
combining  such  healthy  diversities  as  are  necessary 
both  for  a  complete  system  of  truth  and  an  efficient 
living  organization,  and  she  has  the  pledge  of  a  future 
even  brighter  than  the  glory  of  the  past. 


VII.  OUR  DEBT  AND  DUTY  TO  THE  IMMI- 
GRANT POPULATION. 

[Delivered   before  the  Second    General    Conference  of   the    Evangelical 
Alliance,  Boston,  Mass.,  December  6th,  1889.] 

Contempt  of  foreign  nationalities  is  the  mark  of 
paganism.  Christianity  gives  honor  to  all  men.  It 
teaches  that  all  are  made  of  one  blood.  It  recognizes 
in  every  man  a  divine  image.  He  who  is  in  need  is 
my  neighbor.  He  that  is  baptized  is  my  brother.  Those 
whom  nationality,  language,  usages,  have  placed  afar 
off,  are  brought  nigh  by  the  blood  of  Christ.  Under  the 
reign  of  the  gospel  there  is  neither  Greek,  nor  Jew,  bar- 
barian nor  Scythian,  American  nor  European,  Anglo- 
Saxon  nor  Mongolian. 

Certainly,  in  proportion  as  the  mind  of  our  Lord 
is  in  us,  race  antipathies  disappear.  Yet  the  foreigner 
still  finds  himself  at  a  great  disadvantage  in  Christian 
lands,  and  encounters  cruel  prejudice  even  from 
Christian  churches. 

American  birth  is  no  patent  of  nobility,  the  native 
is  born  to  no  moral  nor  intellectual  purple.  Yet  not 
to  have  enjoyed  this  privilege  is  often  viewed  as  a 
mark  of  inferiority.  People  in  a  peculiar  garb,  with 
a  peculiar  brogue,  having  peculiar  manners  and  possi- 
bly slight  peculiarities  of  culture,  betray  a  foreign 
nativity,  and  though  these  several  characteristics  are 
intrinsically  not  beneath  our  standard,  yet  the  foreign 

(283) 


284  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

stamp  on  them  raises  a  barrier  of  coldness,  of  distrust, 
of  estrangement — unless  the  spirit  of  Christ  in  us  dis- 
cerns under  the  uncommon  exterior,  fellow  citizens  with 
the  saints  and  of  the  household  of  God.  The  American 
people  have  weighty  considerations  to  take  a  large 
Christian  view  of  the  immigration  problem.  The 
noblest  principles  that  underlie  our  boasted  political 
structure,  call  on  us  to  extend  the  hand  of  welcome 
to  the  stranger,  and  the  mixed  blood  in  our  veins  must 
warm  our  hearts  toward  his  approach,  unless  with 
ignoble  irreverence  the  interval  of  a  generation  or  two 
has  made  men  oblivious  of  their  European  ancestry. 
The  very  multitude  of  these  new-comers  commands 
our  respect.  The  mere  majesty  of  their  numbers  shields 
them  from  contempt.  We  witness  once  more  on  an 
immense  scale  the  immigration  of  nations.  Once  more 
the  Goth  and  the  Norman,  the  Hun  and  the  Slav  are 
invading  and  overrunning  a  continent.  A  single  year 
has  registered  the  arrival  of  almost  800,000  aliens,  and 
confronted  by  the  fact  that  the  total  number  now  here 
is  not  less  than  10,000,000,  we  dare  not,  to  say  the 
least,  speak  contemptuously  of  the  immigrants.  Count- 
ing their  children,  our  country  contains  to-day  not  less 
than  16,000,000  foreigners  and  half  foreigners,  nearly 
one  fourth  of  our  entire  population.  In  the  cities  of 
San  Fransisco,  St.  Louis,  Cleveland,  Detroit,  Milwau- 
kee, New  York,  and  Chicago,  they  form  from  75  to 
90  per  cent,  of  the  inhabitants,  so  that  four  persons 
out  of  five  in  those  cities  count  with  this  class.  An 
eminent  authority  forecasts  the  foreign  element  to 
reach,  by  the  year  1900,  a  total  of  19,000,000,  and  the 


OUR  DEBT  AND  DUTY  TO  THE  IMMIGRANT.   285 

foreign  and  semi-foreign  population  an  aggregate  of 
43,000,000,  a  half,  or  possibly  a  majority,  of  the  nation. 

Startling  and  overwhelming  as  is  this  spectacle, 
what  a  testimony  it  offers  to  the  regenerating  power  of 
Christianity !  Descended  from  the  races  whose  inun- 
dation engulfed  the  civilization  of  imperial  Rome,  these 
people  do  not  invade  the  land  by  dint  of  force  and 
brutal  conquest,  nor  strike  dow'n  our  institutions  with 
violent  and  vandal  hands.  They  come  not  to  ravage 
the  country,  but  to  make  it  blossom  as  the  rose ;  not 
to  pillage  our  cities,  but  to  enlarge  and  enrich  them ; 
not  to  overturn  the  republic,  but  on  every  battle-field 
consecrated  to  its  defense,  mingling  their  blood  with 
the  blood  of  the  native,  and  counting  it  worthy  of 
every  sacrifice  to  secure  its  blessings  for  themselves 
and  their  children. 

Truth  and  justice  demand  intelligent,  careful  and 
conscientious  discrimination  in  the  consideration  of 
our  debt  to  the  immigrant  element.  It  embraces  all 
sorts  and  conditions  of  men.  It  varies  just  as  the  native 
element  varies,  in  the  grade  of  intelligence,  industrial 
skill,  A'irtue  and  religion.  It  fills  the  highest  stations, 
it  sinks  to  the  lowest  slums.  Everywhere  the  immi- 
grant meets  us,  among  our  masters  and  teachers  and 
leaders,  as  well  as  among  our  servants  and  menials ; 
among  the  barons  of  capital  and  the  knights  of  labor ; 
among  the  merchant  princes  and  the  street  beggars ; 
among  the  railroad  kings  as  well  as  building  the  road- 
beds ;  among  the  artists  and  the  artisans,  in  the  Senate 
and  Cabinet  as  well  as  in  the  mines  and  mills ;  in  the 
Universitv   chairs,   and   in  the   saloons :   in   the   metro- 


286  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

politan  pulpit,  preaching  righteousness,  as  well  as  in 
the  socialistic  hall  proclaiming  anarchy ;  in  the  Evan- 
gelical Alliance  and  the  Catholic  Congress ;  in  the 
noblest  reform  movements,  as  well  as  in  dangerous 
combinations ;  on  the  roll  of  renowned  benefactors  as 
well  as  swelling  the  volume  of  the  criminal  classes. 
There  is  but  one  exalted  position  the  foreigner  never 
reaches,  and  from  that  he  is  debarred  by  the  National 
Constitution. 

In  every  other  station  and  calling  we  are  con- 
strained to  accord  him  a  prominence  that  entitles  him 
to  honorable  consideration.  We  cannot  take  a  look 
into  our  agricultural,  industrial,  engineering,  mercan- 
tile, financial,  journalistic,  educational,  artistical,  scien- 
tific and  professional  spheres,  without  recognizing  an 
array  of  eminent  names  of  foreign  birth. 

Certainly,  in  the  strictly  material  realm,  in  the 
impetus  they  have  given  to  our  industries,  the  bound- 
less domain  they  have  brought  under  cultivation,  the 
immense  cities  which  through  their  impulse  have  risen 
as  by  magic,  the  measureless  increase  they  have  given 
to  our  productive  power,  and  the  untold  millions  they 
have  added  to  our  national  wealth,  they  have  placed 
us  under  obligations  that  beggar  calculation.  And  it 
has  yet  to  be  demonstrated  that  they  have  perceptibly 
deteriorated  the  character  of  that  prosperity  to  which 
they  have  contributed  so  much. 

There  have  been,  indeed,  vile  importations,  but 
the  good  have  vastly  overbalanced  the  evil.  One  Roe- 
bling,  one  Ericsson,  one  Fink,  one  Lieber,  one  Dam- 
rosch,  one  Agassiz.  one  Schurz,  one  SchafT,  one  Wal- 


OUR  DEBT  AND  DUTY  TO  THE  IMMIGRANT.   287 

ther,  more  than  compensates  for  a  pack  of  raving  anar- 
chists. 

Admitting  that  in  the  vast  influx  of  foreigners 
there  are  pestiferous  and  dangerous  elements,  and 
leaving  to  my  successors  the  consideration  of  some 
other  races,  I  confine  myself  to  the  German  and  Scan- 
dinavian population,  an  element  which  has  been  by 
general  consent  a  most  acceptable  and  invaluable  acqui- 
sition, an  element  whose  industry  and  thrift,  whose 
honesty  and  peaceableness,  whose  stability  and  pro- 
gressiveness  are  the  praise  of  all  Americans.  As  patri- 
ots we  can  never  forget  that  one  of  our  German  states- 
men was  the  first  in  the  campaign  of  i860  to  revive  the 
early  traditions  of  the  republic,  and  to  show  their  in- 
compatibility with  the  institution  of  slavery,  striking, 
on  this  subject,  "a  deeper  vein  of  thought  in  every  man 
and  woman  capable  of  thinking" ;  and  also  that  but 
for  the  solid  support  of  the  Germans  in  the  West, 
Abraham  Lincoln  could  never  have  been  elected  Presi- 
dent. 

Clearly  there  are  lights  and  shadows  in  the  immi- 
gration problem.  We  may  sometimes  recoil  from  the 
cost,  yet  we  cannot  deny  the  immense  profit,  which  the 
country  derives  from  this  source.  Possibly  the  greatest 
gain  is  that  which  comes  from  the  intermixture  of 
blood,  the  interblending  of  race  distinctions  and  na- 
tional characteristics. 

In  union  there  is  strength.  It  is  the  fusion  of 
diverse  races  and  elements  that  has  given  to  this  coun- 
try its  phenomenal  and  splendid  development,  and  in 
this   transfusion   of   blood   lies   the   condition    and   the 


a88  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

guarantee  of  the  future.  The  amalgamation  of  Celtic, 
Saxon  and  Norman  blood  created  the  Anglo-Saxon 
race.  The  continued  fusion  of  the  Norman  and  Saxon 
with  our  native  stock  is  making  a  nation  on  the  like  of 
which  God's  sun  has  never  shone.  Not  weakness,  there- 
fore, not  infection,  not  deterioration  can  result  from 
this  commingling,  for  in  energy,  in  intelligence,  in 
self-respect  and  love  of  freedom,  in  virtue  and  in  reli- 
gion, these  people  stand  in  the  front  of  the  species. 
Their  union  with  us  makes  America  the  heir  of  the 
ages,  the  master  of  the  future.  Quoting  one  of  our 
most  distinguished  Americans :  "When  in  the  near 
future  the  United  States  will  have  100,000,000  inhabi- 
tants, their  national  peculiarities  will  be  German 
thoroughness,  solidity,  and  fidelity,  Anglo-Saxon  en- 
ergy and  positiveness,  and  Celtic  imagination." 

Our  debt  to  the  immigrants  extends  into  the  reli- 
gious sphere.  The  same  gentleman  just  quoted  ob- 
serves :  "The  greatest  and  most  wealthy  churches  sup- 
ply their  pulpits  from  foreign  countries."  However 
this  may  be,  thousands  of  more  obscure  congregations 
are  served  by  faithful  shepherds  born  beyond  the 
waters.  The  measure  of  religious  influence  which  they 
diffuse  is  not  to  be  gauged  as  easily  and  as  accurately 
as  contributions  to  material  or  civic  progress.  The 
kingdom  of  God  cometh  not  with  observation.  Yet 
the  fact  that  multitudes  of  foreigners  are  our  brethren 
in  the  common  faith,  that  they  are  evangelical  to  the 
core,  that  in  thoroughness  of  Christian  instruction,  and 
in  love  for  God's  word  and  church,  they  are  not  sur- 
passed by  any   religious  community   in   America,   and 


OUR  DKHT  AND  DUTY  TO  THK  IMMIGRANT.   289 

that  if  any  one  peculiarity  is  of  all  others  most  deeply 
ing'raiiiecl  in  their  character,  it  is  their  simple  faith  in 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  ought  at  least  to  rebuke  the 
spirit  which  lumps  all  foreigners,  Protestant  as  well  as 
Catholic,  in  one  mass  of  ignorance,  formalism,  and 
superstition,  little  better  than  so  much  concrete  pagan- 
ism dumped  at  our  doors. 

It  is  the  intensity  and  incorruptibility  of  their  reli- 
gious convictions  that  has  landed  thousands  of  these 
aliens  on  our  shores.  It  is  to  escape  from  the  stifling 
oppression  of  state  churches,  and  the  soul-poisoning 
fellowship  with  rationalism,  that  they  have  cast  their 
lot  in  this  republic,  where  their  faith,  unfettered  and 
uncorrupted,  may  have  the  freest  and  fullest  exercise. 
And  a  more  intelligent,  evangelical,  and  self-sacrific- 
ing body  of  Christians  than  these,  is  nowhere  to  be 
found. 

While  we  all  know  that  multitudes  of  Germans 
and  Scandinavians  are  irreligious,  may  I  call  your 
attention  to  several  large  and  growing  communities 
which  are  profoundly  spiritual,  and  are  zealously  occu- 
pied in  the  evangelization  of  their  countrymen.  And 
first,  a  body  of  German  evangelical  Lutherans  embrac- 
ing at  least  400,000  communicants,  and  leavening  with 
the  gospel  an  immigrant  population  of  not  less  than 
1.000,000.  Their  feeble  beginnings  are  found  in  the 
state  of  Missouri,  fifty  years  ago,  several  colonies  hav- 
ing left  Saxony  and  other  German  states  purely  for  the 
purpose  of  enjoying  and  maintaining  scriptural  and 
experimental  godliness.  They  hold  fervently  and  firm- 
ly,   undiluted   and   unobscured,    the    fundamental    doc- 

19 


290  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

trines  of  sin  and  grace  which  achieved  the  Reformation. 
A  pvire  and  a  full  gospel  resounds  from  the  pulpit,  and 
re-echoes  from  the  hearth-stone,  every  house  being 
as  a  rule  a  house  of  prayer,  and  the  entire  life  of  the 
people  bearing  the  impress  of  a  genuine  and  devout 
piety.  Six  days  of  every  week  their  children  receive 
religious  instruction.  Here  I  again  plead  for  discrimi- 
nation, confident  that  if  the  motive  for  their  parochial 
schools  and  their  quality  were  understood,  hardly  a 
voice  in  this  Christian  assembly  could  fail  to  commend 
them.  I  can  assure  you  that  there  is  nothing  un-Amer- 
ican about  them ;  nothing  that  smacks  of  foreign  alle- 
giance, either  spiritual  or  political.  With  no  hostility 
to  the  common  school  system,  and  repelling  with  scorn 
the  proposal  of  others  to  have  them  unite  in  demanding 
a  portion  of  the  school  fund, — in  cities  where  this 
demand  could  be  enforced,  habitually  sending  the  more 
advanced  pupils  to  the  higher  grades  of  the  public 
schools  where  their  proficiency  proves  the  thorough- 
ness of  their  primary  training — they  yet  feel  it  to  be  a 
Christian  obligation  to  retain  the  early  education  of 
youth  in  the  hands  of  Christian  teachers.  Hence  they 
maintain,  in  their  poverty,  alongside  of  every  church, 
the  parochial  school,  in  which  the  first  hour  of  every 
day,  one  fifth  of  all  the  school  time,  is  spent  in  worship 
and  religious  instruction.  Besides  this  instruction  of 
childhood  in  the  daily  school,  every  pastor  devotes  at 
least  one  hundred  hours  each  year  to  special  catechet- 
ical instruction,  so  rooting  the  young  in  the  faith,  that 
the  great  majority  are  retained  in  the  church  when  they 
reach  adult  years. 


OUR  DEBT  AND  DUTY  TO  THE  IMMIGRANT.   29I 

Accustomed  in  the  Fatherland  to  the  most  perfect 
educational  system  in  the  world,  the  educational  zeal 
of  these  Germans  keeps  pace  with  their  religious  earn- 
estness. Though  made  up  largely  of  plain  people,  they 
have  established  in  different  parts  of  the  country  a 
number  of  colleges  with  a  curriculum  of  classical  study 
on  a  grade  with  the  German  gymnasium,  extending 
over  six  years,  including  among  other  things  for  each 
class  two  hours  a  week  of  religious  teaching,  and 
giving  such  proficiency  in  the  classics  that  their  alumni 
receive  in  Latin  all  the  lectures  on  dogmatics  and  ex- 
egesis in  their  principal  theological  seminary.  Over  a 
thousand  students  are  pursuing  liberal  culture,  a  large 
proportion  of  them  contemplating  the  ministry.  While 
it  is  for  the  present  a  matter  of  necessity  that  instruc- 
tion as  well  as  worship  be  conducted  in  the  vernacular, 
there  is  neither  prejudice  nor  antagonism  to  the  lan- 
guage of  the  country.  More  English  is  taught  than 
German.  English  is  in  all  their  schools  co-ordinate 
with  the  German,  is  continually  spoken  by  the  young ; 
the  rudimentary  branches  and  United  States  history  are 
taught  in  English,  and  most  of  the  graduates  of  the 
principal  divinity  school  are  able  to  preach  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  country,  and  many  speak  it  better  than 
they  do  the  German.  The  young  are  gathered  into  the 
English  churches,  the  sentiment  of  their  sainted  leader 
being  loyally  carried  out  "to  build  golden  bridges  for 
the  English  churches." 

Besides  their  evangelical  faith  and  solid  educa- 
tional work,  these  Germans  are  one  with  us  in  depre- 
cating the  growing  desecration  of  the  Lord's  day,  and 


292  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

insist  upon  its  observance  by  public  worship  and  atten- 
tion to  the  Word  of  God  as  strenuously  as  the  strictest 
Puritan.  To  a  man  they  condemn  the  saloon  and 
suffer  none  engaged  in  this  traffic  to  defile  the  altar. 

Passing  over  kindred  German  bodies  which,  in 
organization,  progress  and  influence,  may  fall  behind 
the  "Missourians"  (though  not  in  soundness  of  faith, 
depth  of  religious  principle,  or  strictness  of  morality), 
admitting,  too,  that  not  all  German  religious  bodies 
have  like  precious  faith  with  these,  let  us  turn  to 
several  communities  of  Norwegians  and  Swedes,  num- 
bering jointly  200,000  communicants,  and  reaching 
with  spiritual  ministrations  a  foreign-born  population 
aggregating  half  a  million,  a  most  active  and  progres- 
sive element,  maintaining  the  same  scriptural  doctrines 
as  the  German  body  I  have  described,  and  marked  by  a 
similar  pietistic  fervor. 

Their  homes  have  the  Christian  characteristics  of 
worship  and  parental  discipline.  Their  laity  take  an 
active  part  in  the  conduct  of  religious  services.  They 
strictly  observe  the  Lord's  day  and  to  a  man  support 
rigorous  temperance  legislation.  It  was  their  votes 
that  made  prohibition  possible  in  Kansas  and  Iowa,  and 
their  enthusiastic  canvass  which  was  the  chief  factor 
in  carrying  it  for  North  and  South  Dakota.  They 
acquire  our  language  with  singular  alacrity  and  take  a 
patriotic  interest  in  politics.  They  are  already  estab- 
lishing English  churches  for  the  young,  and  while 
gratefully  patronizing  the  public  schools,  they  maintain 
in  the  interval  of  their  close,  so  far  as  possible,  con- 
gregational schools,  so  as  to  impart  religious  instruc- 


OUR  DEBT  AND  DUTY  TO  THE  IMMIGRANT.   293 

tion  in  addition  to  what  they  receive  from  the  never- 
faihng  catechisation  of  the  pastor  and  in  their  over- 
flowing- Sunday-schools.  With  astounding  liberaHty 
and  self-sacrifice,  these  new-comers  have  also  out  of 
their  poverty  founded  numerous  colleges  of  the  regular 
grade,  providing  for  each  class  three  hours  a  week  in 
the  study  of  Christianity.  They  sustain  a  high  standard 
of  theological  training,  and  annually  send  forth  hun- 
dreds of  missionaries,  clerical  and  lay.  to  the  remotest 
Northwest  and  to  the  farthest  corner  of  the  Northeast, 
wherever  a  few  Norsemen  can  be  found. 

Among  these  immigrants,  then,  we  behold  an 
organized  church-life,  with  the  gospel,  with  education, 
morality,  temperance,  home-piety  and  missionary  zeal, 
preaching  Christ  in  their  own  tongue  and  in  ours  to  im- 
mense aggregations  of  our  population.  They  are  as 
yet  only  laying  foundations.  They  have  had  barely 
sufficient  time  to  make  beginnings,  but  with  the  institu- 
tions they  have  established  and  the  rate  of  progression 
they  have  already  attained,  these  communities  are  des- 
tined soon  to  .become  an  immense  power  in  the  evangel- 
ization of  our  country.  What  they  have  in  their  weak- 
ness and  poverty  already  accomplished  seems  like  a 
superhuman  work,  and  they  are  rapidly  attaining  a 
stage  of  efficiency  that  will  enable  them  to  reach  out  to 
every  locality  in  which  are  found  families  of  their  kins- 
men. Such  bodies  must  be  an  inestimable  accession  to 
our  moral  forces.  They  do  not  repress,  they  elevate 
our  spiritual  level.  They  do  not  pollute  or  poison,  but 
they  help  to  purify  the  current  of  our  national  life. 
They  contribute  energy  and   stability  to  our  evangel- 


294  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

ical  Christianity,  just  as  they  have  already  made  im- 
mense contributions  to  our  national  greatness  and 
wealth.  Their  ireligious  system  may  possibly  have 
features  which  you  would  fain  see  modified.  On  the 
other  hand,  an  infusion  of  some  of  its  characteristics 
into  our  own  would  be  an  improvement.  Their  simple 
trust  in  God,  their  unobtrusive,  quiet,  cheerful  spirit, 
their  reverence,  and  their  thorough  religious  nurture 
would  make  a  happy  setting  in  our  American  Chris- 
tianity. 

Verily  in  the  ever-thickening  conflict  between 
truth  and  error,  the  ranks  of  orthodoxy  should  welcome 
this  well-equipped  phalanx  which  stands  like  adamant 
for  the  faith  revealed  from  heaven  and  held  by  tlie 
church  in  all  ages.  Such  a  reinforcement  will  not  be 
underestimated  by  those  who  perceive  the  strength  and 
purpose  of  the  foe,  and  who  appreciate  the  gravity  of 
the  crisis  in  the  camp  of  the  saints.  Wise  men,  who 
know  the  hour  in  Christ's  kingdom,  may  descry  the 
interposition  of  Providence  in  the  presence  of  these 
powerful  allies,  who  have  witnessed  in  the  Fatherland 
the  struggle  between  faith  and  doubt,  who  have  learned 
by  experience  the  character  of  rationalism,  and  whose 
coming  to  us  is  largely  due  to  their  uncompromising 
antagonism  to  it. 

Had  we  a  better  appreciation  of  our  debt  to  this 
class  of  immigrants,  our  duty  would  be  obvious.  But, 
it  is  to  be  feared  that  we  look  at  these  earnest  Christian 
brethren  and  at  their  holy  service  with  a  distorted 
vision.  We  do  not  know  this  foreign  Joseph  and  we 
are   not  over-credulous   about  his   contribution   to   the 


OUR  DEBT  AND  DUTY  TO  THE  IMMIGRANT.   295 

spiritual  rei^cncration  of  our  couutry.  It  must  be  left 
to  time  to  teach  us  in  some  measure  what  these  bodies 
are  doings  for  the  education  of  conscience,  the  diffusion 
of  Christian  conviction,  and  the  conservation  of 
society.  Certainly  their  heart's  desire  and  prayer  to 
God  for  their  kinsmen  according-  to  the  flesh  is  that  they 
may  be  saved. 

A  considerate  realization  of  their  sound  Christian 
character  and  apostolical  activity  would  make  it  our 
first  duty  to  let  them  alone.  It  may  surprise  some  to 
hear  such  a  suggestion  from  this  platform.  There  is 
occasion  for  it.  The  home  missionary  activity  of  our 
respective  churches  is  the  incarnation  of  zeal,  but  it  is 
not  always  a  zeal  according  to  knowledge,  nor  is  it 
uniformly  zeal  for  Christ.  In  spirit  and  aim  and 
methods  it  becomes  easily  the  counterpart  of  secular 
business,  and  sometimes  but  another  name  for  sectarian 
competition.  We  compass  sea  and  land  to  make  one 
proselyte,  and  it  often  gives  greater  joy  to  secure  him 
from  another  fold  than  to  convert  him  from  the  world. 
We  are  happy  over  the  additions  to  our  church,  though 
nothing  is  added  to  Christ's  church.  To  take  sheep 
from  one  pen  to  another  is  no  increase  whatever  to  the 
flock  of  the  Chief  Shepherd. 

Nay,  the  building  of  our  own  means  sometimes 
the  subversion  of  the  work  of  others,  who  are  building 
quite  as  wisely.  It  is  robbing  them  of  the  material 
with  which  they  are  erecting  God's  house.  It  but 
makes  their  burden  heavier,  their  task  more  difBcult. 

If  these  our  brethren  from  foreign  lands  are  not 
doing  God's  work  among  their  kindred,  then  there  is 


296  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

no  God's  work  upon  earth,  and  zealots  might  pause  to 
interfere  with  it  lest  haply  they  be  found  fighting 
against  God.  Yet  from  their  own  testimony  and  from 
home  mission  report,  in  general,  it  is  evident  that  a 
large  amount  of  denominational  zeal  and  money  is  ex- 
pended in  hindering,  retarding  and  thwarting  the 
earnest  Christian  activity  of  these  devoted  people.  A 
chapter  of  church  history  is  making,  which  our  chil- 
dren will  not  care  to  read  and  which  in  some  aspects 
has  a  parallel  only  in  the  annals  of  Jesuit  propagand- 
ism.  Striving,  in  a  land  of  strangers,  with  extraordinary 
self-devotion,  and  a  world-overcoming  faith,  to  bring 
back  the  sheep  of  the  wilderness  into  their  own  folds, 
building  churches,  founding  schools,  establishing  col- 
leges, sending  out  missionaries,  erecting  orphanages 
and  hospitals,  and  finding  to  a  cheering  degree  an  at- 
tentive ear  from  their  respective  countrymen,  often  the 
greatest  discouragements  with  which  these  brethren 
have  to  contend  are  the  endeavors  of  American  shep- 
herds to  discredit  their  work,  to  disturb  their  flocks,  to 
entice  away  their  simple  sheep ;  now  holding  out 
worldly  inducements,  now  plying  them  with  sectarian 
fanaticism,  impugning  the  soundness  of  their  faith,  or 
claiming  for  themselves  a  monopoly  of  God's  grace, 
endeavoring  by  this  means,  by  all  means,  to  build  up 
their  own  organizations  from  the  membership  of  Ger- 
man and  Swedish  churches.  They  seem  not  to  realize 
that  the  hurt  done  to  these  struggling  foreigners  is  a 
blow  to  the  common  cause ;  that  whenever  these  strug- 
gling organizations  are  thus  crippled,  or  injured, 
Christ's  church  is  injured,  Christ's  people  are  wounded, 


OUR  DEBT  AND  DUTY  TO  THK  IMMIGRANT.   297 

no  matter  how  many  cong^regations  under  American 
auspices  you  may  organize  from  the  fragments. 

It  will  not  do  at  this  day  to  make  the  pretext  of 
offering  these  people  a  better  religion.  We  have  had 
enough  of  that  cant.  The  times  of  this  ignorance  are 
happily  past.  With  millions  of  our  native  population 
in  ignorance  of  the  gospel  and  outside  of  the  church, 
you  cannot  convince  the  world  that  you  are  sacrificing 
yourself  for  humanity  when  you  are  manifestly  block- 
ing the  path  of  others  whose  self-sacrificing  devotion 
is  not  questioned. 

One  would  hardly  ofifer,  by  way  of  justification, 
the  plea  of  greater  adaptability  to  the  foreign  element 
or  superior  attractions.  We  can  indeed  send  to  them 
and  support  missionaries  with  little  difficulty.  We  can 
easily  build  for  them  commodious  and  costly  churches ; 
we  can  hold  out  inducements  of  social  and  worldly  posi- 
tion ;  w-e  can  offer  individuals  and  families  financial 
assistance,  just  as  the  politicians  do  in  the  exigencies 
of  an  election,  but  it  is  the  vuiiform  confession  of  mis- 
sion secretaries  and  bishops,  confirmed  by  every  argu- 
ment of  reason  and  experience,  that  the  unchurched 
Germans  and  Scandinavians  are  won  far  more  readily 
by  their  clerical  kinsmen  than  by  strangers  to  their 
blood  and  faith.  A  fellow-feeling  attracts  them  to  their 
countrymen  and  their  minds  are  receptive  for  what  they 
have  been  wonted  to.  Confronted  by  the  teachings,  the 
traditions,  the  usages  of  the  Fatherland,  they  recognize 
what  is  in  a  sense  their  own,  what  belongs  to  tlieir  his- 
tory, a  part  of  their  education,  a  reminiscence  of  home. 
To  everv  wanderer  in  forcicrn  lands  there  is  a  homelike 


298  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

attraction  in  the  sanctuary  which  resounds  with  the 
holy  songs  of  one's  mother-church,  which  rings  out  the 
famiHar  gospel  in  the  mother-tongue,  whose  worship 
and  environment  awaken  memories  of  happier  days,  of 
hallowed  impressions,  of  solemn  vows. 

This  is  no  pagan  element.  These  people  have  had 
a  religious  training,  as  scriptural  and  as  thorough  as 
that  enjoyed  by  the  most  favored  youths  of  our  land. 
And  it  argues  a  marvelous  ignorance  for  us  to  assume 
that  they  come,  in  this  country,  for  the  first  time,  in  con- 
tact with  pure  religion. 

The  only  plausible  pretext  for  the  avowed  and 
deliberate  attempt  to  transfer  the  evangelical  immi- 
grants into  other  churches  than  their  own  is  the  alleged 
importance  of  their  immediate  Americanization.  Our 
cherished  institutions,  it  is  claimed,  are  in  danger  from 
these  large  foreign  communities  if  they  be  not  promptly 
incorporated  with  our  religious  organizations  and  fused 
into  the  more  distinctly  American  form  of  Protestant- 
ism. The  health  of  the  body  politic  requires  that  all 
new-comers  become  as  speedily  as  possible  homogen- 
eous with  us  in  language,  customs  and  religion.  Politi- 
cal advantages  are  thus  made  a  cover  for  sectarian 
proselytism.  Religious  diversities  must  be  sacrificed  to 
national  consolidation.  The  interests  of  the  church  are 
subordinate  to  those  of  the  state.  This,  rightly  inter- 
preted, makes  the  country  the  end,  the  church  the 
means,  and  the  amalgamation  of  foreigners  into  our 
American  life  is  the  foremost  task  of  the  church. 

It  is  enough  here  to  remind  those  who  entertain 
this  plea  that  the  Lord  Jesus  did  not  die  to  Americanize 


OUR    DEBT    AND    DUTY    TO    THK    IMMIGRANT.      299 

men,  but  to  save  them  from  their  sins,  and  the  supreme 
concern  of  the  Christian  church  is  to  have  sinners 
washed  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  and  renewed  by  the 
incorruptible  seed  of  God's  Word.  If  they  are  thus 
redeemed  they  will  surely  make  good  citizens.  The 
republic  is  safe  if  the  church  penneates  its  heart  with 
the  leavening  and  saving  power  of  the  gospel.  The 
perpetuity  of  our  institutions  depends  on  the  education 
and  evangelization  of  individuals.  This  done,  the  re- 
sponsibility of  the  church  is  discharged. 

Let  us  not  forget  the  golden  words  addressed  to  us 
tW'O  years  ago  by  the  Secretar)-  of  this  Association : 
"The  only  way  to  elevate  our  civilization  is  to  elevate 
our  citizens.  The  only  way  to  save  institutions  is  to 
save  men.  But  we  shall  not  save  men  if  we  seek  them 
for  the  sake  of  our  institutions  and  our  civilization. 
They  were  made  for  man,  not  man  for  them.  And  we 
shall  fail  of  the  lower  unless  we  aim  at  the  higher. 
.  .  .  Our  government,  our  civilization,  our  cher- 
ished American  institutions,  are  only  a  part  of  the 
scaffolding  of  that  temple  which  God  is  rearing  in  the 
earth,  built  of  living  stones,  fashioned  after  the  simili- 
tude of  the  headstone  of  the  corner.  And  that  shall 
abide." 

It  has  yet  to  be  demonstrated  that  the  teachings, 
the  worship,  or  the  customs  of  these  people  are  in  any 
degree  out  of  harmony  with  our  best  American  life,  or 
in  conflict  with  the  highest  type  of  American  citizen- 
ship. In  the  civic  sphere  they  are  not  inferior  to  our 
native  product.  A  more  industrious,  intelligent,  pro- 
gressive and  peaceable  class  is  nowhere  to  be   found. 


300  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

They  are  Americans  of  Americans.  And  as  the  chief 
aim  of  their  churches  and  schools  is  to  make  good 
Christians,  they  can  certainly  be  depended  on  to  make 
good  citizens. 

Possibly,  too,  the  greatest  evils  and  perils  of  our 
country  are  not  chargeable  to  foreigners.  Our  native 
Adam  may  have  the  seeds  of  deterioration,  should  he 
not  even  be  contaminated  by  foreign  blood.  The  germs 
of  disease  in  the  national  life  are  not  all  importations. 

The  plea  of  zealots  for  a  hasty  Americanization  of 
Christian  foreigners  appears  to  betray  a  weak  faith  in 
the  intrinsic  strength  of  American  institutions.  The 
immediate  Russianization  of  a  few  million  peaceful 
Germans  on  the  frontier  may  be  indispensable  to  the 
continued  rule  of  a  despot ;  a  military  empire  may  feel 
the  necessity  of  promptly  crushing  out  French  institu- 
tions and  the  French  language  from  its  conquered  an- 
nexations, but  surely  American  liberty  is  in  no  such 
straits.  Our  temple  of  freedom  is  not  likely  to  totter 
if  some  of  our  adopted  fellow-citizens  should  for  a  gen- 
eration worship  God  in  their  own  tongue,  and  receive 
the  care  of  ministers  whose  devotion  to  a  pure  Chris- 
tianity and  to  religious  freedom  brought  them  to  our 
shores. 

Nor  should  we  view  those  whom  the  glorious  at- 
tractions of  our  country  have  brought  into  our  midst 
as  pent  up  in  a  stifling  and  pestilential  atmosphere,  so 
that  extraordinary  efforts  must  be  put  forth  to  pump 
into  them  the  pure  American  oxygen.  Our  very  air  is 
instinct  with  freedom.  Every  inhalation  on  American 
soil  is  fraught  with  American  ideas.     It  is  impossible 


OUR  DEBT  AND  DUTY  TO  THE  IMMIGRANT.   30I 

for  sane  people  to  live  in  this  country  and  not  become 
Americans.  Whatever  prejudices  or  antipathies  some 
may  bring-  with  them,  they  unconsciously  imbibe  the 
American  spirit,  and  a  few  years  suffice  to  win  tliem 
irresistibly  to  our  institutions. 

The  rapid  Americanization  of  almost  every  nation- 
ality that  comes,  is  one  of  the  marvels  of  history,  and 
this  is  particularly  true  of  the  Teutonic  elements.  They 
have  hardly  time  to  settle  down  and  get  acquainted  until 
they  are  of  us,  in  love  with  the  best  element  of  our 
national  characteristics,  and  soon  undistinguishable 
from  the  native  American,  except  by  a  slight  brogue, 
and  possibly  greater  thrift  and  thoroughness. 

The  country  has  more  to  fear  from  a  too  rapid 
Americanization  than  from  a  slower  process,  a  consid- 
eration which  refuses  the  claim  that  we  must  infuse  a 
new  type  of  religion  into  foreigners  so  as  to  accelerate 
the  transition.  The  young  stranger  who  is  quite  ready 
to  cast  ofif  the  influences  and  associations  of  home  is  not 
the  most  desirable  acquisition  to  a  commercial  house, 
vi^hich  requires  the  strictest  integrity.  And  foreigners 
who  are  in  great  haste  to  renounce,  with  their  native 
land,  the  noblest  and  best  possessions  it  gave  to  them, 
in  whom  religious  and  moral  principles  are  so  super- 
ficially rooted,  that  they  can  throw  them  aside  on  land- 
ing here,  must  be  prima  facie  an  ignoble  class.  A  self- 
respecting  people  who  cherish  their  sacred  traditions, 
in  w-hom  truth  and  righteousness  have  become  in- 
grained, whose  faith  is  identified  with  their  very  being, 
and  who  are  set  against  religious  innovations,  is  an  ele- 
ment worth  having. 


302  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

The  most  serious  moral  strain  to  which  the  indi- 
vidual or  a  community  can  be  subjected  is  a  sudden 
transition  to  new  conditions  and  new  surroundings.  It 
is  a  matter  of  infinite  detriment  to  our  own  religious 
life,  that  our  native  population  has  become  so  largely 
migratory ;  that  we  have  so  much  breaking  up  of  house- 
holds, scattering  the  young  to  distant  localities,  and 
removing  them  from  accustomed  associations  and  re- 
straints. When  the  strain  is  heightened  by  removal  to 
a  foreign  land,  when,  sundered  from  all  the  protection 
and  powerful  bonds  of  country,  church  and  home,  they 
are  cast  among  strangers,  exposed  to  the  temptations 
of  a  new  world,  and  cut  oflF  from  all  the  hallowed  influ- 
ences that  keep  men  in  right  paths,  the  only  cord  that  is 
likely  to  hold  them  is  the  faith  of  their  childhood.  Snap 
this  asunder,  persuade  them  that  in  this  country  their 
prayer-book  and  their  old  religion  are  not  in  fashion, 
and  that  they  must  hastily  adopt  a  new  pattern  of  piety, 
and  you  snap  the  cord  which  anchors  them  within  the 
veil.  Do  not  subject  the  moral  fibre  of  the  stranger  to 
such  a  shock.  x'Mlow  his  faith  to  remain  undisturbed, 
to  keep  its  hold  upon  his  conscience  and  conduct,  to 
strengthen  and  solace  him  in  the  bitter  trials  which  he 
is  sure  to  experience.  Let  the  transition  be  gradual.  Let 
time  do  the  work  of  modifying.  Let  Americanization 
proceed  not  by  mechanical  force,  but  according  to  the 
law  of  growth, — the  law  of  all  healthy  life.  Hasten 
not  to  extinguish  the  remains  of  home  influence ;  rather 
strengthen  it,  and  keep  alive  the  memory  of  the  good 
and  happy  days  of  old.  Granted  that  there  is  an  Ameri- 
can type  of  Christianity,  as  there  is  an   Oriental,  an 


OUR  DEBT  AND  DUTY  TO  THE  IMMIGRANT.   303 

Occidental,  a  German,  and  an  Anglican,  our  American 
religions  life  lias  hardly  so  reached  its  limits  of  devel- 
opment, or  become  so  stereotyped,  as  to  render  (lerman 
reverence  and  pietism  and  Scandinavian  devotion  inad- 
missible. 

We  owe  them  a  hearty  welcome  as  fellow  Chris- 
tians, and  an  honest,  practical  recognition  as  co-laborers 
in  the  kingdom  of  Jesus.  We  are  at  home  here ;  we 
claim  this  great  country  as  our  country.  They  are 
strangers  and  sojourners  with  us,  but  having  with  us 
one  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism,  they  are  entitled  to 
the  sympathy,  confidence  and  affection  of  Christian 
hospitality.  They  should  be  made  to  feel  that  they  are 
esteemed  as  brethren,  of  the  household  of  faith. 

Yet  the  reception  accorded  them  generally  by  our 
churches  falls  short,  incomparably,  of  the  welcome  the}- 
receive  from  the  government.  By  the  state  they  are 
viewed  as  an  invaluable  accession ;  by  the  churches  as 
rather  a  doubtful  acquisition.  They  are  not  looked 
upon  as  adding  ought  to  the  Christian  forces  of  the 
country,  as  contributing  any  evangelizing  power.  Thev 
are  not  hailed  as  a  corps  of  reinforcements  in  the  army 
of  the  Lord,  joining  us  shoulder  to  shoulder  in  the  bat- 
tle with  sin,  sensualism  and  superstition.  Either,  my 
brethren,  there  is  wanting  to  us  the  spirit  of  brother- 
hood inherent  in  Christianity,  or  we  lack  that  faith  in 
the  intrinsic  unity  of  the  Christian  church  which  we 
pronounce  in  the  Creed,  or  else  we  must  more  than 
suspect  that  under  the  unwonted  garb  of  their  worship 
and  the  foreign  tongue  in  which  it  is  necessarily  con- 
ducted, there  lurks  some  dreadful  heresy,  some  laxity 


304  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

of  principle  or  some  soul-destroying  formalism,  which 
justifies  missionary  superintendents  and  mission  boards 
in  classifying  these  Christian  people  with  the  irreligious 
population.  Agents  are  appointed  and  funds  are  appro- 
priated for  work  among  the  Chinese,  the  Mormons,  the 
Indians,  the  Freedmen,  the  Germans,  the  Swedes,  and 
at  last  the  "Pennsylvania  Dutch," — the  most  completely 
churched  element  in  this  country. 

Here  are  large  bodies  of  earnest  Christians,  who 
rival  the  most  zealous  of  us  in  honoring  Christ,  with 
their  churches,  Sunday  schools,  and  higher  institutions 
of  learning,  and  their  presence  and  their  work  are  ut- 
terly ignored  by  our  aggressive  denominational  parti- 
sanism. 

What  though  the  richness  and  fullness  of  the  gos- 
pel as  preached  by  them  is  nowhere  surpassed ;  what 
though  the  people  unite  in  the  worship  of  the  sanctuary 
as  they  do  nowhere  else ;  what  though  the  religious 
instruction  and  godliness  of  their  home  life  may  with 
profit  be  imitated  by  Americans ;  what  though  their 
piety  radiates  in  a  lofty  morality  and  makes  a  stable 
and  progressive  population,  the  sectarian  propagandist 
can  see  them  only  in  the  light  of  admirable  material  lo 
build  up  denominational  missions. 

Brethren,  I  should  be  derelict  to  the  truth,  I  should 
,  not  be  faithful  to  my  Master  and  my  people,  if  I  did  not 
on  this  occasion  record  my  humble  protest  against  this 
treatment  of  a  large  body  of  excellent  Christians,  whose 
only  delinquency  is  their  not  having  been  born  in  this 
country.  And  this  protest  is  called  forth,  not  only  by 
the   wrong  which  this  proselytism   inflicts  upon  these 


OUR  DEBT  AND  DUTY  TO  THE  IMMIGRANT.   305 

brethren  of  foreign  birth,  but  by  the  wrong  which  it 
does  at  the  same  time  to  our  American  Christianity,  the 
wretched  exhil)it  it  makes  of  the  spirit,  aims  and  meth- 
ods which  have  gained  currency  among  us.  Simple- 
minded  and  confiding,  coming  from  lands  where  they 
enjoyed  what  we  seem  to  desire  so  much, — a  united 
Christian  church,  these  strangers  behold  here  the 
church  divided  into  a  number  of  rival  sects,  competing 
for  ascendency,  shrewdly  and  strategically  eyeing  the 
foreign  Protestant  element,  and  contending  for  it  as  a 
means  of  swelling,  respectively,  their  denominational 
strength.  What  impression  does  this  make  upon  these 
newly-arrived  disciples  of  Christ?  What  estimate  does 
it  give  them  of  our  form  of  Christianity?  What  confi- 
dence does  it  inspire  in  the  dominant  types  of  American 
church  life? 

They  have  an  enlightened  faith.  They  know  the 
way  of  salvation.  They  know  the  rock  whence  they  are 
hewn.  They  are  quite  sure  of  the  ground  underneath 
them,  and  with  open  eyes  and  devoted  hearts  they  are 
making  incomparable  sacrifices  to  bring  their  unbeliev- 
ing countrymen  under  the  power  of  the  gospel,  and 
yet  they  find  very  frequently  not  only  no  sympathy,  no 
recognition  from  their  American  brethren,  but  really 
their  chief  obstacle  in  the  interference  of  American 
zealots,  who  with  questionable  devices  are  seeking  to 
draw  away  from  them  the  very  souls  whom  they  are 
striving  to  save.  They  find  their  influence  undermined, 
their  teachings  and  religious  character  slanderously  as- 
sailed,— although  any  sciolist  knows  the  doctrines  of  a 
20 


3o6  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

great  historic  church,  and  the  noble  Christian  virtues 
by  which  its  people  are  distinguished. 

We  owe  them  substantial  co-operation, — a  co-oper- 
ation most  effective  in  bringing  about  results  which  we 
all  most  earnestly  desire.  Co-operation  in  the  salvation 
of  all  classes  is  the  watch-word  of  the  new  turn  which 
this  Alliance  has  taken.  The  mighty  task  of  giving 
Christ  to  this  land,  and  this  land  to  Christ,  is  what  we 
have  set  our  hearts  upon.  What  is  now  pre-eminently 
needed  is  the  wisdom  which  will  so  divide  and  deploy 
the  multitudinous  hosts  of  the  church  as  to  give  to  every 
one  its  specific  work, — work  which  by  the  obvious  indi- 
cations and  preparations  of  providence,  it  is  best  fitted 
to  accomplish.  There  is  no  doubt  as  to  the  power  of 
our  leader ;  there  is  no  doubt  as  to  the  ample  resources 
and  diversified  aptitudes  of  His  people ;  there  is  little 
doubt  as  to  their  real  readiness  and  heartiness  for  the 
work ;  what  is  lacking  is  so  wise  a  coalition  of  the  dif- 
ferent instrumentalities,  such  a  distribution  of  the  sev- 
eral gifts  as  will  assure  the  greatest  advance  for  the 
cause  as  a  whole.  For  each  corps  to  map  out  its  own 
plan,  and  order  its  march,  and  choose  its  positions  re- 
gardless and  oblivious  of  those  who  have  already  occu- 
pied the  same  positions,  means  simply  to  fire  upon  our 
friends,  and  to  court  disaster  and  irretrievable  disgrace. 

If  we  have  Christ's  cause  at  heart,  and  not,  to  a 
greater  degree,  the  Presbyterian  cause,  the  Methodist 
cause,  the  Lutheran  cause,  we  will  so  dispose  all  the 
confederated  troops,  so  divide  all  resources,  so  distrib- 
ute the  advantages  as  to  make  all  converge  to  the  tri- 


OUR  DEBT  AND  DUTY  TO  THE  IMMIGRANT.   307 

nniph  of  one  glorious  result.  Instead  of  making  an>- 
move,  covert  or  open,  through  enlightened  or  mis- 
guided zeal,  that  may  embarrass  or  cripple  and  weaken 
a  friendly  force,  we  will  move  conjointly  upon  the  ene- 
mies' works,  and  make  sure  of  a  common  victory. 

Recognizing  amid  the  diversity  of  gifts  and  callings 
the  same  spirit,  acknowledging  that  in  God's  providence 
some  have  manifestly  peculiar  qualifications  for  one 
sphere,  while  others  find  themselves  most  effective  in 
another,  let  us  invoke  the  law  of  adaptation;  let  us 
make  a  rational  division  of  labor ;  let  us  combine  and 
thereby  make  sure  of  the  greatest  benefit  to  the  whole. 
Each  body  has  advantages,  and  each,  disadvantages.  In 
the  work  among  the  immigrants,  the  American  is  rich, 
where  the  German  or  Scandinavian  is  poor;  but  the 
latter  are  often  strong  wdiere  the  former  is  w^eak.  Be- 
tween the  foreign-born  pastor  and  his  countr>nnen  there 
exists  in  advance  a  bond  of  sympathy  and  confidence. 
He  is  of  their  own  blood.  He  understands  their  pecu- 
liarities, their  prejudices,  their  temperament  and  their 
training,  their  susceptibilities  and  their  singular  trials. 
They  in  turn  are  familiar  with  the  faith,  the  usages  and 
forms  which  he  represents.  Every  Scandinavian  and 
nearly  every  German  Protestant  holds  in  his  memory, 
if  not  in  his  heart,  the  elements  of  Christian  doctrine. 
What  he  needs  is  to  have  these  germs  nurtured,  these 
smoldering  embers  rekindled,  these  feeble  beginnings 
or  remains  strengthened  and  vitalized.  This  can  in 
every  way  be  best  effected  by  one  of  his  own,  one  who 
stands  near  him,  a  kinsman.     For  such  a  one,  so  to 


308  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

speak,  everything  is  ready,  while  a  stranger  is  Hkely  to 
confuse  the  faith  of  childhood,  or  to  stifle  it  with  novel- 
ties of  thought  or  application. 

It  is  God's  plan  that  from  among  themselves 
prophets  are  to  arise  to  teach  a  people.  It  is  from  a 
native  ministry  that  we  expect  ultimately  the  evangeli- 
zation of  the  heathen.  And  this  principle  applies  to  the 
immigrants.  They  do  not  know  the  voice  of  strangers. 
They  distrust  it.  They  misapprehend  it.  American 
clerg^'men  are  just  as  much  strangers  to  them  as  they 
are  strangers  to  America,  and  the  American's  religion 
with  its  divisions,  its  rivalries,  its  baldness  of  worship, 
its  emotionalism  and  demonstrative  piety,  strikes  them 
as  something  very  strange.  Their  knowledge  of  its 
true  character  is  limited.  The  reports  of  it  in  their 
European  home  are  unfavorable  and  disparaging,  and 
on  settling  here  they  think  as  poorly  of  our  type  of 
Christianity  as  we  do  of  theirs — and  from  the  same 
causes,  ignorance  and  prejudice.  Thus  our  evangelistic 
efforts  among  them  encounter  a  wall  of  prejudice,  and 
even  when  that  is  broken  down,  there  remain  verj'  for- 
midable difficulties  and  disadvantages.  Circumstances 
being  equal,  one  of  their  own  number  can  accomplish 
more  than  ten  of  our  denominational  representatives. 
One  thousand  dollars  expended  through  these  natural 
channels  will  do  more  evangelistic  work  than  ten  times 
that  sum  expended  in  efforts  to  draw  them  into  other 
folds. 

Such  are  the  advantages  possessed  by  their  own 
clergy.  On  the  other  hand,  the  material  resources  of 
these    communities    are    utterlv    incommensurate    with 


OUR  DEBT  AND  DUTY  TO  THE  IMMIGRANT.  309 

their  opportunities  and  necessities.  They  carry  for- 
ward, indeed,  their  work  with  an  economy  of  outlay 
that  is  incomprehensible  to  the  wealthy  .\merican 
churches.  There  is  a  humbleness  about  their  under- 
takings, a  modesty,  and  withal,  a  self-sacrifice  which 
we  are  unable  properly  to  appreciate,  much  less  to  imi- 
tate. A  year's  salary  of  one  of  their  pastors  is  scarcely 
equivalent  to  what  the  average  American  receives  per 
montli,  and  in  numberless  cases,  along  with  his  proper 
pastoral  charge,  the  minister  serves  a  number  of  mis- 
sion points.  Yet  even  though  done  at  such  a  moderate 
cost,  their  financial  resources  are  altogether  inadequate 
to  the  demands  of  the  work. 

An  organized  congregation  is  the  norm  of  Chris- 
tianity. The  conditions  of  a  congregation  are  a  house 
of  worship  and  a  settled  pastor.  To  prepare,  in  addi- 
tion, a  corps  of  ministerial  recruits,  there  must  be 
higher  institutions  of  learning.  To  compass  all  the  nec- 
essar)'  expenditures  involved  in  these  essentials,  so  that 
the  vast  opportunities  may  be  seized,  is  beyond  the 
power  of  these  people,  who  have  not  been  here  long 
enough  to  amass  American  wealth.  Where  their  work 
is  most  needed,  in  our  large  cities,  which  contain  many 
thousands  of  their  godless  countrymen,  there  they  find 
themselves  in  the  greatest  straits.  The  price  of  ground 
on  which  to  erect  church  buildings  is  appalling,  and 
yet  without  these,  organized  and  enduring  Christian 
work  is  out  of  the  question.  Furnish  them  with  places 
of  worship,  and  New  York  alone  will  in  a  few  years 
return  a  score  of  new  evangelical  congregations  com- 
posed of  its  immigrant  population. 


3IO  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

A  cause  like  this,  properly  understood,  must  com- 
mend itself  to  our  laymen  of  large  means  and  larger 
hearts.  It  is  a  cause  that  implies  nothing  less  than  the 
spread  of  orthodox  Christianity  among  the  immigrant 
masses,  the  maintenance  of  Christian  education,  and  the 
strengthening  of  all  the  foundations  on  which  the  re- 
public is  resting. 

What  opportunities  open  here,  and  what  harvests 
they  promise  is  illustrated  by  the  generosity  of  Christ 
Episcopal  Church,  St.  Louis.  Fifty  years  ago  it  took 
compassion  on  a  colony  of  pious  Saxons,  and  for  three 
years  allowed  them  at  a  nominal  rent  the  use  of  the 
basement.  From  that  little  Saxon  congregation,  whose 
very  life  was  conditioned  by  this  friendly  consideration 
of  a  sister  church,  there  has  developed  in  half  a  century 
a  body  of  Christians  now  aggregating  over  one  thou- 
sand ministers,  fifteen  hundred  churches  and  three  hun- 
dred thousand  communicants,  and  their  influence  in 
saving  our  German  population  cannot  be  overestimated. 

Again,  a  few  years  ago,  the  Hon.  R.  S.  Cable 
donated  $25,000  to  a  Swedish  college  at  Rock  Island, 
an  institution  that  now  maintains  fifteen  professors,  en- 
rolls two  hundred  and  fifty  students,  and  sends  forth, 
annually,  waves  of  Christian  influence  that  must  have 
the  most  salutary  efifect  on  our  Swedish  fellow-citizens. 

Such  examples  of  recognition,  sympathy,  and  sub- 
stantial co-operation  do  more  for  the  evangelization  of 
a  large  class  of  immigrants,  than  all  the  machinery  and 
special  work  that  ever  has  been  or  ever  can  be  devised. 

It  is  no  Utopian  scheme  that  is  here  presented.  It 
is  not  even  something  new.    The  first  distinctively  Ger- 


OUR  DEBT  AND  DUTY  TO  THE  IMMIGRANT.   3II 

man  colonies  in  this  country  received  aid  for  the  sup- 
port of  pastors  and  the  erection  of  churches  from  the 
"Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Christian  Knowledge," 
and  that  with  no  thought  of  making  Episcopalians  of 
thom.  The  theological  institution  in  which  I  have  the 
honor  to  teach,  and  which  was  for  years  the  chief 
source  of  ministerial  supply  for  my  denomination,  owes 
a  large  measure  of  its  prosperity  and  ever-widening 
influence  to  the  generous  sympathy  of  Xew  England 
Congregationalists,  who  fifty  years  ago  donated  the 
funds  for  a  second  professorship. 

If  it  be  objected  that  this  means  simply  that  Chris- 
tians from  other  denominations  shall  contribute  to  the 
building  up  of  one  in  particular,  I  reply  that  a  ix>licy 
which  will  build  up  an  evangelical  church  is  in  every 
way  preferable  to  a  policy  that  obstructs  and  weakens 
it.  There  can  be  no  successful  Christian  activity  that 
is  not  attended  by  the  increase  of  one  or  more  denomi- 
nations, unless  we  propose  to  found  a  new  one.  The 
spirit  of  Christ  desires  to  see  all  prosper,  multiply  and 
advance.  Why  not,  then,  so  distribute  resources,  apti- 
tudes, gifts,  and  talents  as  to  throw  eflfectual  support 
where  it  promises  to  reach  vast  multitudes  of  immi- 
grants who  are  estranged  from  religion  and  who  may 
prove  dangerous  elements  of  society. 

We  want  these  masses  won,  whoever  may  be  most 
directly  active  in  winning  them.  We  want  the  gospel 
to  have  the  supremacy  over  our  great  country,  which- 
ever of  the  denominations  may  be  particularly  advan- 
taged by  its  universal  diffusion.  Our  social  order  rests 
on  Christianity.     The  simple  application  of  the  gospel 


312  THE   HIGHER    ROCK. 

is  the  solution  of  the  problems  of  our  time.  Its  con- 
servative and  uplifting  power  is  the  hope  of  our  future. 
Wherever,  then,  we  see  men  earnestly  engaged  in  pro- 
mulgating its  teachings,  let  us  do  what  lieth  in  us  to 
promote  their  efficiency.  The  s'.ronger  their  hands,  the 
sooner  will  the  work  be  accomplished. 

Problems  and  complications  may  be  involved  in 
this  proposal.  We  distinguish  between  the  desirable, 
the  ideal,  and  the  practicable,  but  it  is  our  duty  to  aim 
at  the  best  the  circumstances  admit;  and  I  am  per- 
suaded that  the  plan  suggested  is  enforced  by  weighty 
and  scriptural  considerations. 

1.  It  implies  an  economy  of  means.  Why  shall 
denominational  zeal  make  its  enormous  expenditures 
to  reach  an  element  which  the  providence  of  God  has 
made  far  more  accessible  to  others,  who  with  the  frac- 
tion of  such  outlay  can  have  a  more  thorough,  and, 
perchance,  a  more  enduring  success  ?  Why  not  conduct 
the  Lord's  business  on  business  principles?  Let  there 
be  no  waste. 

2.  It  coincides  with  the  plan  already  developed 
and  practiced  by  the  Alliance — a  whole-souled  denom- 
inational co-operation.  The  days  of  sectarian  jealousy, 
factional  Christianity,  are  numbered.  The  age,  the 
situation,  demands  that  we  combine  on  a  comprehen- 
sive scale,  the  zeal,  the  resources,  the  beneficence  of 
the  Christian  church,  "so  as  to  reach  our  entire  popula- 
tion with  the  Gospel."  The  course  here  advocated  is 
simply  emphasizing  and  applying  this  new  departure, 
"a.  movement  accepted  in  the  spirit  of  dvity,  providen- 
tially laid  upon  it,  and  having  the  unanimous  and  hearty 


OUR  DEBT  AND  DUTY  TO  THE  IMMIGRANT.   313 

indorsement  of  leading  clergymen  and  laymen  of  all 
evangelical  denominations."  We  want  to  strengthen 
one  another's  hands ;  to  svipply  reciprocally  our  mutual 
lack;  to  bid  a  substantial  God-speed  to  all  who  love 
the  Lord  Jesus  in  sincerity. 

Whoever  then  is  most  efficient  in  any  particular 
sphere,  whoever  is  best  adapted  to  win  a  certain  class, 
cheer  him,  encourage  him,  reinforce  him,  whether  his 
shibboleth  is  yours  or  his.  Let  these  foreign  fellow- 
laborers  in  the  Kingdom  feel  themselves  strengthened 
and  upheld  by  your  attitude  toward  them,  their  diffi- 
culties diminished,  their  success  multiplied  by  your 
co-operation. 

The  local  alliance  can  be  of  great  service  in  arous- 
ing public  interest,  in  directing  the  beneficence  of 
wealthy  laymen,  in  bringing  the  unshepherded  for- 
eigners to  their  proper  flocks,  and  to  pastors  best  fitted 
to  take  care  of  them.  When  your  visitors  find  a  Ger- 
man or  a  Scandinavian  send  him  to  the  church  of  his 
fathers,  the  church  in  which  he  was  baptized  and  reared, 
the  church  of  his  vows.  Send  him  to  his  spiritual 
mother,  remembering  there  is  no  place  like  home.  Let 
the  wanderer  be  brought  once  more  into  scenes  that 
will  recall  the  most  solemn  hours  of  his  life,  and  you 
have  secured  the  best  condition  for  bringing  him  under 
the  power  of  grace.  It  was  an  approved  policy  in  the 
conduct  of  the  late  war  to  officer  Irish  brigades  with 
Irish  commanders,  and  the  Germans  were  wisely 
allowed  to  "fight  mit  Sigel." 

If  we  were  not  restrained  by  sectarian  bias  and 
jealousy,  if  we  were  more  imbued  with  the  wisdom  and 


314  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

spirit  of  the  Gospel,  we  should  long  ago  have  effected 
organizations  to  aid  these  Christian  immigrants  in 
their  evangelization  of  their  countrymen,  along  the  line 
of  their  own  usages  and  traditions.  If  the  hour  has 
not  yet  struck  for  associate  measures,  surely  it  com- 
mends itself  to  individual  effort  and  generosity. 

3.  A  co-operation  like  this  would  repress  the  ram- 
pant denominationalism,  which  is  the  reproach  and  the 
weakness  of  our  American  Christianity.  It  may  not  be 
the  antichrist,  as  some  have  thought,  yet  it  doubtless 
is  the  demon  of  our  American  system  which  by  common 
consent  must  be  cast  out.  It  has  seriously  blocked  the 
path  of  the  Gospel  both  among  natives  and  immigrants, 
and  has  been  the  theme  of  endless  derision.  To  check 
this  zealotry  and  at  the  same  time  convince  the  stranger 
that  your  foremost  concern  is  his  moral  and  spiritual 
welfare,  would  be  a  vantage  ground  of  immense  im- 
portance in  the  effort  to  convert  men  to  Christ. 

4.  It  would  cultivate  the  love  which  is  the  badge 
of  Christianity.  It  would  once  more  make  the  world 
say,  "How  these  Christians  love  one  another!"  They 
are  all  brothers,  divided  by  no  selfish  or  partisan  lines. 
We  have  hardly  reached  a  dizzy  height  of  Christian 
perfection  so  long  as  the  measure  of  our  zeal  and  activ- 
ity coincides  with  the  advancement  of  our  party,  and 
our  purses  open  or  close  with  the  prospect  of  denomi- 
national aggrandizement.  In  war,  the  officer  who  de- 
clines to  serve  where  special  glory  may  accrue  to  a 
rival  is  usually  dismissed  from  the  service  as  one  lack- 
ing in  patriotism. 

5.  Such    co-operation    would    be    an    incalculable 


OUR  DEBT  AND  DUTY  TO  THE  IMMIGRANT.   315 

triumph  to  the  church  as  a  demonstration  of  its  essen- 
tial unity  under  divergent  forms.  It  would  show  us  to 
be  one  united  host,  animated  by  one  spirit,  looking 
towards  a  common  aim,  each  rejoicing  in  the  respective 
triumphs  of  the  other,  each  determined  to  know  nothing 
but  Christ  and  him  crucified.  And  in  our  yearning  for 
a  fuller  realization  of  this  unity,  the  more  comprehen- 
sive the  co-operation  the  more  powerful  and  convinc- 
ing the  demonstration. 

6.  It  would  enrich  the  individual  with  spiritual 
blessings.  It  would  open  the  gates  to  the  pent-up 
graces.  It  would  deepen  the  soil  under  the  culture  of 
the  spirit.  It  would  bring  the  inheritance  promised 
to  those  who  give,  hoping  for  nothing  again.  It  would 
represent  the  highest  form  of  Christian  liberality,  the 
most  beautiful  expression  of  that  charity  "which  seek- 
eth  not  her  own." 


VIII.  THE  HISTORIC  EPISCOPATE  THE 
CORNER-STONE  OF  A  REUNITED 
CHURCH. 

[From    The    Interior.] 

The  declaration  on  Christian  unity  communicated 
by  the  bishops  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church  "to 
the  organized  Christian  bodies  of  our  country."  names 
"the  historic  episcopate"  as  one  of  the  four  essentials 
for  the  restoration  of  unity.  This  is  in  fact  the  only 
condition  which  has  evoked  general  attention,  and  is 
the  only  one  likely  to  call  forth  strenuous  opposition  on 
the  part  of  those  churches  which  are  favorably  inclined 
toward  proposals  for  an  organic  union  of  Christendom. 

There  has  been  considerable  discussion  as  to  the 
sense  in  which  the  terms  "historic  episcopate"  are  to 
be  understood.  The  religious  press  has  teemed  with 
articles  stoutly  maintaining  that  scholars  generally,  and 
among  them  eminent  representatives  of  the  Anglican 
communion,  agree  in  holding  that  the  polity  of  the 
Episcopal  church  is  not  an  apostolic  or  New  Testament 
institution.  The  Presbytery  of  New  York,  in  its  over- 
ture to  the  General  Assembly,  gave  on  the  one  hand  a 
Presbyterian  interpretation  of  "the  historic  episcopate" 
continuing  "in  all  ages  of  the  church  in  unbroken  suc- 
cession until  the  present  day,"  and  on  the  other  hand 
earnestly  testified  "against  any  claim  of  the  diocesan 
episcopate    to    the    exclusive    right    of    ordination    as 

(316) 


THE    HISTORIC    EPISCOPATE.  317 

without  warrant  from  the  Word  of  God."  The  General 
Assembly  at  Omaha,  in  its  cordial  but  guarded  response 
to  the  bishop's  invitation,  pointedly  emphasized  "mu- 
tual recognition"  and  "ministerial  reciprocity"  as 
among  the  foremost  objects  to  be  sought  in  the  pro- 
posed conference.  And  the  General  Synod  of  the 
Lutheran  Church,  speaking  from  the  same  city  a  few 
days  later,  made  official  declaration  that  it  entertained 
no  objections  to  "the  historic  episcopate"  as  it  obtained 
in  the  apostolic  church  and  as  it  was  understood  by 
the  great  body  of  the  Reformers,  botli  German  and 
Anglican. 

It  must  be  obvious  to  all  interested  parties  that 
the  first  step  to  be  taken  in  this  matter,  if  anything 
whatever  is  to  come  out  of  the  bishop's  proposal,  is  to 
secure  a  general  understanding  of  the  sense  which  we 
are  to  apply  to  "the  historic  episcopate"  agreement  in 
the  use  of  terms  is  the  first  prerequisite  in  a  discussion. 
As  the  House  of  Bishops  proposed  this  condition  as 
essential  to  the  restoration  of  Christian  unity,  that  body 
must  of  course  be  regarded  as  the  proper  authority  to 
give  a  plain,  uiiambiguous  definition  of  its  own  terms. 
So  far  it  has  not  given  any,  although  one  of  its  ablest 
members,  while  occupying  the  broad  platform  of  the 
evangelical  alliance,  took  occasion  the  other  day  to  oflFer 
most  graciously  to  all  of  us  the  unspeakable  treasures 
which  are  supposed  to  inhere  in  "the  historic  episco- 
pate." and  that,  too,  in  a  manner  which  left  no  doubt 
in  anybody's  mind  of  the  bishop's  meaning.  But  if  the 
bishops  themselves  have  not,  up  to  date,  defined  this 
equivocal    phrase,    some    of    those    who    through    the 


3l8  THE   HIGHER   ROCK. 

imposition  of  their  hands  were  invested  with  the  gift  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  and  the  authority  to  teach  the  truth, 
have  interpreted  it  with  most  laudable  clearness  and 
positiveness. 

In  the  late  church  congress  at  Louisville,  this  topic 
was  assigned  a  conspicuous  place  on  the  program  and 
clearly  with  reference  to  the  action  of  the  bishops  in 
setting  it  forth  as  one  of  the  necessary  bases  of  unity. 
It  came  up  for  discussion  on  the  third  day.  Three 
papers  were  read  by  eminent  divines  and  a  number  of 
volunteer  speeches  followed.  Now,  these  utterances, 
we  well  understand,  are  not  to  be  regarded  as  oracular. 
They  are  not  intended  to  voice  the  authoritative  judg- 
ment of  the  bishops,  yet,  as  they  were  put  forth  by  a 
number  of  the  ablest  and  foremost  divines  in  the  Epis- 
copal Church,  they  must,  in  great  measure,  represent 
the  sentiments  of  that  body,  and  they  prove  most  inter- 
esting and  significant  as  an  index  of  the  sense  in  which 
the  Episcopalians  themselves  understand  "the  historic 
episcopate." 

The  first  paper,  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Harwood,  of  New 
Haven,  maintained  that  at  the  great  break  of  the 
Reformation,  the  Church  of  England  "continued  the 
episcopate  chiefly  because  it  had  always  been  one  of  the 
indicia  of  the  Church  of  Christ."  "The  ancient  mode  of 
the  government  of  the  church  was  preserved,  an  ecclesi- 
astical, not  a  divine  institution." 

The  second  paper,  that  of  the  Rev.  W.  R.  Mackay, 
of  Pittsburg,  followed  the  same  pitch.  "Now  that  the 
spirit  of  God  has  brought  men  and  churches  more 
closely   together,   and    a   desire    for   unity   is   manifest 


THE   HISTORIC   EPISCOPATE.  3 19 

everywhere,  the  theory,  not  the  fact,  of  the  apostoHc 
episcopate  is  the  chief  obstacle  to  this  consummation. 
That  theory  is  that  all  ministerial  power  was  transmitted 
by  Christ  to  the  bishops  ;  =5=  *  *  and  that,  when  the  union 
comes,  all  ministers  uniting-  with  us  nmst  be  episcopally 
ordained,  humbly  acknowledging^  that  they  and  their 
fathers  were  not  of  the  ministry  of  the  church  of  God. 
Like  the  doctrine  of  the  divine  right  of  kings,  this 
theory,  happily,  is  exploded.  While  government  is 
divine,  the  form  is  human,  and  this  is  as  true  of  the 
church  as  of  a  nation.  We  have  a  right  to  alter  existing 
forms,  even  to  annihilate  them.  "^  *  *  The  office  is 
only  the  tool  in  the  Master- Workman's  hands,  and  he 
cannot  transfer  the  powers  of  the  office,  for  he  does  not 
own  them.  The  whole  theory  is  a  fiction.  *  *  *  Let 
us  throw  the  apostolic  fiction  overboard,  and  let  us  ask 
our  brethren  to  accept  the  apostolic  reality  in  its  plainest 
form.  Measured  by  the  New  Testament,  the  leading 
Protestant  churches  have  already  the  apostolic  succes- 
sion of  the  New  Testament  in  all  its  reality  and  power." 
The  third  paper  was  read  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Vibbert, 
of  Chicago,  and  had  a  somewhat  different  sound.  "So 
clear  and  comprehensive  are  the  utterances  of  Holy 
Scripture  and  of  the  fathers,  doctors,  councils,  canons, 
and  formularies  of  the  church  on  this  great  subject, 
that  nothing  new  that  is  true  is  left  to  be  said.  *  *  * 
The  historic  episcopate  is  necessary  to  the  being  and 
essence  of  the  church,  an  essential  link  in  the  process 
of  bringing  about  a  real  union  of  believers  with  our 
adorable  Lord,  and  maintaining  the  corporate  life  of 
that  body  of  which  he  is  the  head.    We  hold  that  Epis- 


320  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

copal  orders  are  a  necessary  condition  for  the  valid 
celebration  of  the  sacrament  of  the  altar,  e.  g.,  by 
which  grace  is  given  to  human  souls,  and  by  means  of 
which  they  are  united  to  the  incarnate  Lord  without 
whom  there  is  no  spiritual  life.  *  *  *  The  grace  of 
orders  is  and  can  be  transmitted  by  those  only  who 
have  in  succession  received  that  grace  and  the  authority 
to  hand  it  down  from  its  original  source,  the  great 
Shepherd  and  Bishop  of  our  souls.  The  historic  episco- 
pate is  the  actual  succession  of  such  bishops  as  have  in 
turn  revived  this  power  and  authority  from  age  to  age, 
till  we  reach  the  Apostles  themselves,  etc.  *  *  * 
This  doctrine  of  the  apostolic  succession  is  the  doctrine 
of  the  Anglican  branch  of  the  church,  and  so  the  doc- 
trine of  our  own  Church.  *  *  *  por  the  sake  of 
unity  we  are  ready  to  give  up  anything  that  we  can  give 
up.  But  these  things  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  surrender 
without  proving  faithless  to  our  trust.  *  *  *  We 
hold  it  as  a  necessary  and  essential  part  of  the  frame- 
work of  Christ's  kingdom,  because  of  its  vital  import- 
ance to  each  believer,  because  it  is  one  of  the  divinely 
instituted  channels  of  the  supernatural  gifts  of  God 
to  the  soul  of  the  individual."  The  first  speaker  after 
the  reading  of  the  paper  was  the  Rev.  Dr.  Donald,  of 
New  York,  who  contended  that  it  was  "just  as  difficult 
with  the  authenticity  of  the  Epistles  of  Ignatius  almost 
certified,  to  prove  the  nature  of  the  government  insti- 
tuted by  the  Apostles.  We  have  neither  evidence  that 
the  episcopate  was  of  divine  appointment  nor  assur- 
ance that  it  was  primitive,  intended  to  be  eternal."  He 
combated  the  idea  that  only  those  are  ordained  upon 


THE    HISTORIC    EPISCOPATE.  32 1 

whom  the  hands  of  the  bishop  have  been  laid.  If  that 
were  so.  then  the  absence  of  such  ordination  meant  no 
ministry,  no  sacraments,  no  union  with  Christ,  and  it 
would  seem  very  easy  to  go  only  a  Httle  step  further 
and  say  that  the  members  of  these  vast  communions 
about  us  can  have  no  salvation  for  the  lack  of  ejjisco- 
pally  ordained  ministers. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Holland,  of  St.  Louis,  said  per  con- 
tra, that  in  the  light  of  history,  the  doctrine  of  episco- 
pacy is  perfectly  established,  "We  must  not  expect  to 
find  all  things  in  the  New  Testament  (evidently  Dr. 
H.  does  not  find  episcopacy  there).  The  maxim  which 
makes  the  Bible  alone  a  standard  of  belief  is  a  curiosity. 
*  *  *  Will  you  tell  me  that  the  Apostles  had  inspir- 
ation for  speech  only,  and  not  for  action  ?" 

Another  speaker,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Babcock,  of  Colum- 
bus, claimed  "the  episcopate  to  be  a  fact,  the  apostolic 
succession  a  theory,  a  fancy,  a  relic  of  Judaism,  and  as 
unchristian  as  unhistoric.  It  did  not  exist  in  New 
Testament  times,  and  it  is  of  divine  origin  merely  be- 
cause God  bestowed  the  gift  of  government  upon  man, 
to  be  shaped  by  human  agency  according  to  the  exi- 
gencies of  the  times." 

What  Bishop  Seymour  and  Drs.  Riley  and  Mc- 
Vickar  added  is  not  reported  in  The  Churchman,  from 
which  these  extracts  are  taken.  But  they,  of  course, 
joined  in  the  responsive  service,  following  the  one  strain 
or  the  other  according  to  the  altitude  of  their  church- 
manship. 

Which  of  these  two  parties,  now  maintaining  theo- 
ries diametrically  opposed  to  each  other,  represents  the 
21 


322  THE   HIGHER   ROCK. 

view  of  the  House  of  Bishops  on  "the  historic  episco- 
pate?" The  pubHc  has  an  eager  and  profound  interest 
in  the  answer  to  this  question.  And  with  all  becoming- 
deference  to  that  reverent  and  imposing  body  of  pre- 
lates, it  seems  to  us  that  a  supreme  obligation  to  the 
churches  addressed  in  their  declaration  and  the  cause 
of  Christian  unity  and  the  cause  of  truth,  imposes  upon 
them  an  authoritative  and  unmistakable  deliverance  on 
this  subject.  The  denominations  which  have  received 
in  good  faith  their  overture  on  the  restoration  of  church 
unity,  and  which  are  earnestly  striving  for  some  solid 
and  scriptural  basis  for  new  relations  of  harmony  and 
co-operation  among  the  Christian  bodies  of  the  land, 
have  a  sacred  and  indefeasible  right,  before  proceeding 
any  further,  to  ask  from  the  bishops  this  simple  solu- 
tion of  a  question  which  they  themselves  have  brought 
forward. 

An  unmistakable  authoritative  answer  may  indeed 
develop  a  dilemma.  If  the  bishops  hold  the  view  that 
"the  historic  episcopate"  is  "an  ecclesiastical,  not  a 
divine  institution,"  if  they  admit  that  the  theory  of  a 
divine  right  attaching  to  the  episcopate  is  "exploded," 
that  it  is  but  "a  fancy,  as  unchristian  as  unhistoric,'^ 
and  "an  apostolic  fiction,"  it  becomes  a  serious  question 
why  they  should  block  the  way  of  Christian  union  by 
thrusting  forward  as  essential  to  it,  a  device  so  unim- 
portant and  adiaphoristic. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  they  take  the  position  that 
the  episcopate  "is  one  of  the  divinely  instituted  chan- 
nels of  supernatural  gifts  to  the  individual  soul,"  and 
that  "without  it  there  can  be  no  ministry,  no  sacraments. 


THE    HISTORIC    EPISCOPATE.  323 

no  union  with  Christ,"  the  Christian  public  will  want 
to  know  why,  in  all  good  conscience,  the  bishops  of 
the  Episcopal  Church  should  solemnly  propose  to  other 
churches,  as  a  condition  of  fellowship  with  them,  a 
theory  of  the  ministry  against  which  these  have  suc- 
cessfully contended  for  nearly  four  centuries,  and 
which  the  scholarship  of  the  day  by  a  singular  unanim- 
ity pronounces  to  be  both  unscriptural  and  unhistoric? 


IX.  THE  PRAYERS  OF  THE  SELFISH. 

[From  The  Christian  At  Work.] 

The  recent  study  of  Cain  and  Abel  in  the  Sunday 
schools  was  hardly  so  exhaustive  as  to  render  any 
further  reflections  on  that  subject  out  of  season.  In 
fact,  the  most  practical,  the  most  needed,  and  the  most 
momentous  lesson  of  that  ghastly  tragedy,  which  fit- 
tingly opens  the  world's  record  of  fraternal  strife,  per- 
secution and  blood,  was  larg-ely  overlooked  in  the  nu- 
merous expositions  published.  These  "notes"  dilated 
pretty  generally  on  the  awful  guilt  of  murder,  a  reflec- 
tion not  specially  called  for  among  our  Christian  chil- 
dren, and  on  the  monstrous  depravity  which  Cain 
exhibited  in  bringing  an  offering  without  blood — as  if 
a  fully  developed  theological  system  had  been  extant 
in  the  infancy  of  the  race  and  Cain's  greatest  offence 
consisted  in  his  heresy  on  the  atonement. 

To  us  who  are  accustomed  to  engage  in  Divine 
worship,  undoubtedly  the  most  serious  question  that 
here  presents  itself  is  the  rejection  of  this  man's  offer- 
ing. Finding  nothing  in  the  Scriptures  or  elsewhere 
indicating  that  the  offering  was  in  itself  inappropriate, 
and  knowing  that  the  gift  is  accepted  according  to  the 
state  of  the  worshipper  and  not  conversely  the  worship- 
per according  to  the  quality  of  his  gift,  we  ought  to 
seek  in  the  man's  personal  character  for  the  secret  which 

(324) 


THE    PRAYERS   OF   THE   SELFISH.  325 

converted  his  sacrifice  on  the  altar  into  a  curse.  This 
secret  is  not  difificult  to  discover.  His  defiant  retort, 
"Am  I  my  brother's  keeper?"  betrays  the  true  inward- 
ness of  the  man  and  demonstrates  his  absolute  incapac- 
ity for  acceptable  worship.  He  had  no  interest  in 
others.  His  own  affairs  absorbed  his  attention.  He 
looked  out  for  "number  one."  He  lived  for  himself. 
Why  should  he  be  burdened  with  care  and  responsibil- 
ity for  another?  True,  there  were  natural  ties  of  sym- 
pathy, and  these  would  of  themselves  create  a  strong 
claim  upon  a  brother's  consideration,  but  these  he  coldly 
repudiated.  Cain  was  the  keeper  of  himself,  not  of  his 
dependent  brother.  And  this  rendered  his  admittance 
into  the  Divine  presence  impossible.  Selfishness  dis- 
qualifies for  approach  to  the  throne  of  grace.  Heaven 
is  closed  against  the  offerings  of  those  who  bear  no 
love  to  others.  The  prayers  of  the  selfish  are  answered 
with  curses. 

This  sounds  harsh,  and  you  say,  perhaps,  it  is  too 
sweeping.  But  you  can  only  argue  thus  by  shutting 
your  eyes  to  the  downright  wicked  and  devilish  nature 
of  selfishness.  We  are  wont  to  treat  with  indulgence 
this  horrible  crime  against  man  and  God,  probably  be- 
cause of  its  general  prevalence,  as  if  this  did  not  in  itself 
betray  its  revolting  character.  But  surely  the  Holy 
Scriptures  have  no  palliation  for  this  monstrous  evil. 
"Whosoever  doeth  not  righteousness  is  not  of  God, 
neither  he  that  loveth  not  his  brother."  God  has  so 
closely  identified  himself  with  man  that  he  who  has 
wrong  feelings  toward  his  fellows  cannot  have  right 
feelings  toward  their  Father  in  heaven.     The  love  of 


326  THE   HIGHER   ROCK. 

God  and  the  love  of  man  are  made  our  supreme  duty 
and  these  two  commands  are  made  parallel  by  the  high- 
est authority  and  interpreted  as  equal  in  import  and 
inseparable  in  binding  force.  "He  that  loveth  not  his 
brother  whom  he  hath  seen,  how  can  he  love  God  whom 
he  hath  not  seen?"  The  human  is  invested  with  the 
image  of  the  Divine.  The  traces  of  Divinity  reveal 
themselves  in  man.  The  shadow  of  the  Almighty  may 
be  recognized  in  the  human  spirit  by  the  eye  that  is 
not  wilfully  blind  and  unfriendly  to  both  God  and  man, 
Contempt  for  the  image  means  accordingly,  contempt 
for  the  original.  He,  therefore,  that  despiseth,  despiseth 
not  man  but  God. 

The  want  of  right  feelings  toward  others  being 
thus  made  the  proof  that  a  man  has  no  proper  feelings 
toward  God,  he  may  as  well  spare  himself  the  effort  to 
worship  Him.  He  can  present  no  acceptable  sacrifies 
or  prayers  at  the  altar  of  the  All-seeing.  "Therefore, 
if  thou  bringest  thy  gift  to  the  altar,  and  there  remem- 
berest  that  thy  brother  hath  aught  against  thee,  leave 
there  thy  gift  before  the  altar,  and  go  thy  way ;  first  be 
reconciled  to  thy  brother,  and  then  come  and  offer  thy 
gift."  Right  relations  and  right  feelings  toward  others, 
the  relations  and  feelings  of  brotherhood,  sympathy, 
charity,  are  indispensable  conditions  in  coming  to  right 
relations  and  entertaining  proper  feelings  toward  the 
Most  High.  Abandon  your  gift  at  the  altar.  It  is 
unavailing.  You  are  in  no  state  of  mind  for  communion 
with  God,  as  long  as  a  loving  communion  does  not  exist 
between  you  and  your  neighbor.  The  Samaritan  who 
showed  mercy  was  accepted  of  God.     The  priest  and 


THE    PRAYERS   OF   THE   SELFISH.  327 

tlie  Levite  who  hurried  by  their  unfortunate  neighbor 
to  present  their  offerings  in  the  temple,  had  nothing 
for  their  pains  but  the  frown  of  heaven. 

To  be  covetous  is  but  another  term  for  being  sel- 
fish. He  who  is  intent  upon  his  own  interests  and 
therefore  indifferent  to  another's  is  guilty  of  covetous- 
ness.  He  wants  the  good  things  of  life  for  himself, 
and  as  there  are  not  enough  to  go  around  he  means  to 
appropriate  the  earth  to  himself  and  his  family.  The 
rest  may  have  what  is  left.  Now,  the  covetous  man 
St.  Paul  designates  point-blank  an  idolater.  Greed  is 
idolatry.  The  best  affections  which  God  claims  for 
himself  and  for  our  neighbor  are  alienated  to  gross  and 
degrading  idols.  And  can  one  worship  idols  and  at 
the  same  time  the  Supreme  Jehovah?  drink  the  cup 
of  the  Lord  and  the  cup  of  devils  ?  offer  sacrifies  both 
to  Mammon  and  to  Christ?  Ye  cannot  serve  two  mas- 
ters. You  cannot  with  a  selfish  heart  seek  your  own 
and  then  come  before  the  face  of  God  with  prayer  for 
his  blessing. 

Selfishness,  furthermore,  behaves  towards  God  just 
the  same  as  towards  man.  It  has  no  more  regard  for 
the  Father  than  for  the  brother.  In  attempted  com- 
munion with  Him,  just  as  in  the  intercourse  with  men, 
the  needle  points  directly  and  fixedly  toward  self. 
Cain's  sacrifice  is  will-worship.  It  is  determined  by  his 
own  caprice.  It  is  ruled  by  his  own  taste  and  pleasure. 
It  cost  him  nothing.  He  makes  no  selection  of  the  first 
and  the  fattest  for  the  Lord.  He  recognizes  no  claims 
from  that  quarter  any  more  than  from  another.  He 
goes  through  the  form  of  outward  service  without  any 


328  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

feeling  of  humility  or  of  thanksgiving  and  without  any 
exercise  of  faith.  Every  requisite  to  genuine  prayer  is 
necessarily  absent  from  the  selfish  heart.  No  prayer 
can  be  heard  without  faith  and  faith  casts  out  self.  If 
I  have  a  child's  confidence  in  my  Heavenly  Father  I 
cannot  aim  at  appropriating  what  my  brother  needs. 
My  very  faith  makes  me  content  with  what  is  given 
me.  The  selfish  soul  is  in  the  nature  of  things  without 
faith  and  therefore  cannot  pray  acceptably. 

And  once  more,  the  very  essence  of  worship  is  self- 
abasement,  to  bow  the  will,  to  surrender,  to  immolate 
self  upon  God's  altar.  The  unfailing  temper  of  all  true 
prayer,  as  taught  and  exemplified  by  the  Master,  is 
"Thy  will  be  done,  not  mine."  The  selfish  man  says  in 
his  heart,  no  matter  what  his  lips  utter,  "My  will  be 
done,  not  Thine."  The  only  will  he  acknowledges  is  his 
own  will,  the  only  homage  he  really  pays  is  to  himself. 
His  worship  is  in  fact  self-worship.  It  cannot  rise 
above  himself,  neither  can  the  prayer  that  accompanies 
it.  You  may  like  one  of  old  wrestle  all  the  night  to 
obtain  a  coveted  good,  but  until  you  abandon  your  self- 
will  and  give  up  the  eflfort  to  storm  the  very  heavens 
with  selfishness,  and  surrender  yourself  to  the  will  of 
the  Lord  your  prayer  will  be  as  ineffectual  as  was 
Jacob's.  God  cannot  be  successfully  sought  by  a  will 
at  variance  with  His  own. 

Who  then  can  pray  eflfectually?  Are  we  not  all 
selfish?  Not  in  the  sense  of  being  ruled  by  this  base 
passion.  No  more  slanderous  aspersion  of  human  na- 
ture can  be  made  than  to  charge  it  with  universal  sel- 
fishness.    God's  infinite  love  has  opened  the  fountains 


THE    PRAYERS   OF   THE   SELFISH.  329 

of  human  sympathy.  It  has  awakened  a  charity  that  is 
kind,  that  envieth  not,  that  seeketh  not  her  own,  that 
beareth  all  things  for  the  sake  of  others.  Selfishness 
may  cleave  to  the  best  of  men.  but  it  does  not  reigii 
over  them.  Some  time  ago  France  was  troubled  with 
the  presence  of  a  number  of  royal  princes,  claimants 
to  the  crown,  but  they  were  not  allowed  to  seize  the 
throne,  they  were  held  in  subjection  and  thus  kept  com- 
paratively harmless.  We  must  distinguish  between  the 
presence  of  selfishness  and  its  sway  of  our  afifections, 
aims  and  actions.  If  it  reigns  in  our  mortal  bodies, 
then  if  we  endeavor  to  pray  "we  ask  and  receive  not, 
because  we  ask  amiss  that  we  may  consume  it  on  our 
lusts."  "If  I  regard  iniquity  in  my  heart,  the  Lord 
will  not  hear  me." 


X.     EATING  AND  DRINKING  UNWORTHILY. 

[From   The    Sunday    School    Times.] 

Ask  one  hundred  Christian  people  the  meaning  of 
the  phrase  "he  that  eateth  and  drinketh  unworthily," 
and  ninety-nine  will  go  astray,  and  reply  that  it  refers 
to  the  moral  fitness  of  the  communicant.  Ask  one  hun- 
dred preachers  how  they  interpret  the  passage,  and 
nine-tenths  of  them  will  repeat  the  same  error,  putting 
upon  these  words  a  sense  which  was  not  in  the  Apostle's 
mind,  and  using  them  for  a  purpose  for  which  they 
were  not  originally  designed.  It  is  commendable  that 
pastors  generally  recognize  the  need  of  a  suitable  frame 
of  mind  in  order  that  communicants  may  experience 
the  benefits  of  the  Holy  Communion ;  but  it  is  not  com- 
mendable that  so  large  a  proportion  wrest  the  Scrip- 
tures by  a  false  interpretation. 

Here,  as  elsewhere,  the  simplest  exegetical  canon 
ofi^ers  the  key  for  correct  exposition.  The  context 
leaves  no  doubt  of  the  writer's  aim.  The  immediate 
subject  under  discussion  admits  of  no  question.  The 
Corinthians  had  such  a  misconception  of  this  divine 
institution  that  the  observance  of  it  in  their  assemblies 
was  a  flagrant  profanation.  They  prostituted  it  into 
a  sensual  feast,  and  they  made  it  the  means  of  main- 
taining social  distinctions.  Its  spiritual  character  was 
destroyed  by  degrading  it  to  an  ordinary  meal  to  ap- 

(330) 


EATING    AND    DRINKING    UNWORTHILY.        33I 

pease  hunger,  and  for  the  brotherly  unity  and  intimate 
fellowship  of  believers  which  the  supper  was  designed 
to  promote,  their  practice  subsituted  social  indifference 
and  contempt.  Rich  meml)ers  who  had  brought  a 
plenteous  supply  of  food  consumed  their  own  contri- 
bution with  greed  and  indecent  haste,  while  the  poor 
who  could  bring  little  or  little  had  to  go  hungry. 

Such  a  celebration  was  a  horrible  travesty  of  the 
rite,  and  a  procedure  utterly  unbecoming  to  its  true 
character.  It  was  a  most  indecorous  and  indecent  per- 
formance, wholly  unworthy  of  its  sacramental  import. 
It  was  eating  and  drinking  unworthily,  without  any  es- 
timate of  or  regard  for  the  religious  solemnity,  which 
is  its  infomiing  essence.  It  was  impossible  under  such 
circumstances,  as  the  revisers  have  it  correctly  (v.  20), 
to  celebrate  the  Lord's  Supper.  The  feast  of  the  flesh 
had  effaced  the  feast  of  the  spirit. 

The  Apostle  then  argues  the  holy  heavenly  signif- 
icance of  the  rite  from  the  immediate  revelation  he  had 
received  concerning  it,  giving  the  history  of  its  insti- 
tution, showing  its  vital  relation  to  the  body  of  Christ, 
and  its  absolute  distinction  from  ordinary  meals ;  and 
he  points  out  the  awful  guilt  they  were  incurring  by 
their  carnal  perversion  of  it.  Here  for  the  first  time 
occurs  the  adverb  "unworthily."  Their  failure  to  con- 
nect this  eating  in  any  wise  with  the  death  of  our  Lord, 
for  whose  "remembrance"  (v.  29),  their  degradation 
and  desecration  of  a  divine  mystery  by  making  it  noth- 
ing more  than  a  satisfaction  of  natural  appetite,  "in- 
volves the  crime  of  having  violated  the  body  and  blood 
of  the  Lord."     He  that  thus  "eateth  and  drinketh  un- 


332  THE   HIGHER   ROCK. 

worthily  eateth  and  drinketh  judgment  unto  himself." 
The  Head  of  the  Church  will  not  suffer  its  rites  to  be 
profaned. 

Here  it  is  not,  mark  you,  a  question  of  the  per- 
sonal worthiness  of  the  guests,  like  the  case  of  the  man 
who  had  not  the  wedding  garment,  but  a  question  of 
the  employment  of  the  rite  to  an  unworthy  end. 

"But  let  a  man  examine  [prove]  himself."  This 
admonition  certainly  looks  toward  inquiring  into  one's 
fitness,  preparing  one's  self  in  heart  for  the  ordinance, 
qualifying  one's  self  for  a  worthy  appearance.  Cer- 
tainly it  is  commonly  so  interpreted,  but  at  the  expense 
of  interrupting  Paul's  course  of  thought  and  disturb- 
ing the  natural  connection.  In  harmony  with  this,  the 
sense  is  that  communicants  are  to  examine  themselves 
with  respect  to  the  character  of  this  ordinance,  consider 
what  they  are  doing,  guard  against  the  ofifense  he  is 
rebuking,  against  eating  and  drinking  unworthily,  in- 
quire of  themselves  whether  or  not,  in  the  Holy  Com- 
munion, they  discern  the  Lord's  body.  When  they 
come  together,  is  it  to  satisfy  natural  or  spiritual  hun- 
ger,— is  it  to  sustain  physical  life  or  to  show  the  Lord's 
death?  Let  them  prove  themselves  on  this  point 
whether  they  be  in  the  faith,  whether  they  have  a  right 
estimate  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  And  so  let  them  eat; 
that  is,  in  confonnity  to  the  right  conception  of  the 
nature  and  purport  of  the  sacrament.  That  this  is 
the  primary  object  of  the  examination  is  explained  in 
logical  form  by  the  following  verse :  "For  he  that  eateth 
and  drinketh  unworthily,"  etc.  The  Apostle  clinches 
the  argument  by  recurring  once  more  to  their  unwor- 


EATING    AND    DRINKING    UNWORTHILY.       333 

thy  conception  of  the  supper  which  eliminated  from  it 
the  Lord's  body.  "He  partakes  unworthily,"  says 
Neander,  "who  does  not  keep  in  view  the  holy  purport 
and  aim  of  the  solemnity,  but  treats  it  as  an  ordinary 
meal,  which  in  its  observance  does  not  show  forth  the 
death  of  the  Lord." 

This  does  of  course  not  hinder  a  man  from  looking 
into  his  own  heart.  The  right  conception  of  the  nature 
and  purpose  of  the  ordinance  is,  in  fact,  likely  to  lead 
up  to  rei>entance  and  faith,  which  are  the  essential  per- 
sonal requisites.  Kling  observes :  "At  all  events,  the 
unworthiness  lies  in  a  lack  of  living,  active  faith  in  the 
atonement  which  has  been  achieved  by  the  death  of 
Christ;  and  this  is  the  source  of  the  various  moral  dis- 
qualifications by  which  the  celebration  of  the  supper 
may  be  dishonored." 

At  the  same  time,  it  must  be  admitted,  people  in- 
dulge in  morbid  self-introspection  to  their  own  harm 
quite  as  much  as  to  their  benefit.  And  they  require 
caution  lest  they  fall  into  the  snare  of  the  devil,  by 
making  such  an  estimate  of  their  personal  fitness  or 
unfitness  as  will  determine  them  to  participate  or  to 
abstain.  He  who  after  self-examination  judges  him- 
self worthy  to  eat  this  bread  and  drink  this  cup,  by 
that  very  act  shows  himself  most  unworthy  of  it.  He 
is  not  fit  for  the  Communion.  And  a  more  aggravated 
case  of  eating  unworthily  cannot  be  conceived.  No 
man  living,  no  saint  or  angel  in  heaven,  is  worthy  to 
sit  down  at  the  table  of  the  Lord. 

Not  the  unworthy  guest,  but  the  unworthy  eating, 
is   the   subject   in   this   lesson.     Not   a   quality   of   the 


334  ''^HE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

guest  is  condemned,  but  a  misuse  of  the  institution, — a 
practice  not  in  keeping  with  the  purpose  of  its  Founder. 
We  have  to  do  here  with  the  objective,  not  with  the 
subjective.  Our  business  is  not  self-contemplation,  but 
the  remembrance  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  the  proclamation 
of  His  death,  the  prophecy  of  His  coming.  Dr.  Hodge 
puts  it  with  his  usual  clearness  when  he  says :  "All  that 
is  necessary  here  to  observe  is  that  the  warning  is 
directed  against  the  careless  and  orofane,  and  not 
against  the  timid  and  the  doubting.  It  is  not  the  con- 
sciousness of  unworthiness  that  makes  a  person  un- 
worthy, nor  yet  is  it  any  misgiving  in  regard  to  a  suit- 
able preparation ;  for,  although  this  may  be  an  evidence 
of  weak  faith,  it  certainly  indicates  a  better  state  of 
mind  than  indifferenoe  or  false  security."  And  Dr. 
Pentecost  states  a  precious  truth  in  these  golden  words  : 
"It  is  an  utter  perversion  of  the  Supper's  use  to  spend 
the  time  before  and  during  the  service  upon  ourselves." 
"Do  this,"  said  the  Lord,  "in  remembrance  of  Me." 


XI.    TWO  FACTS  AS  TO  INERRANCY. 

[From  The  Lutheran  Quarterly.] 

The  burning  question  of  the  hour  in  the  theolog- 
ical world  is  the  inerrancy  of  the  Holy  Scriptures.  By 
some  it  is  contended  that  Revelation  itself  must  fall 
with  the  surrender  of  the  theory  that  the  form  in  which 
it  originally  came  to  us  was  in  every  particular  fault- 
less and  infallible.  On  the  other  hand,  the  possibility 
of  inerrable  compositions  has  been  boldly  denied.  What- 
ever comes  through  human  hands,  men  tell  us,  must 
share  the  defects  and  the  limitations  of  the  human  mind, 
and  traces  are  to  be  found  in  the  Scriptures  which  be- 
tray their  authors'  consciousness  of  the  imperfection  of 
their  productions.  Dr.  Wolf  simply  offers  some  unde- 
niable facts  for  consideration  which,  though  familiar 
to  Biblical  students,  are  too  often  put  in  the  back- 
ground. 

I.  The  Church  is  not  in  possession  of  the  auto- 
graph manuscripts.  The  original  documents  are  no- 
where to  be  found ;  no  eye  of  man  has  seen  them  for 
thousands  of  years.  The  controversy  concerning 
their  exemption  from  the  possibility  of  error  can  have 
no  practical  value.  Whatever  Biblical  criticism  may 
be  able  to  accomplish  by  way  of  restoring  the  original 
text,  this  science  is  yet  in  its  infancy.  The  oldest 
Hebrew  manuscripts  existing  date   from   the  sixth  to 

(335) 


336  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

the  twelfth  centuries :  the  Greek  Septuagint  is  twelve 
centuries  older  than  the  oldest  extant  Hebrew  manu- 
script, and  it  was  evidently  made  from  a  text  that  dif- 
fered widely  from  the  received  Hebrew  original.  As 
the  deviations  from  the  original  consist,  not  merely  of 
faulty  renderings,  but  of  differences  of  matter,  it  is 
obvious  that  either  the  LXX.  followed  a  corrupted  text, 
or  our  present  Hebrew  is  corrupted.  Probably  neither 
of  them  is  strictly  faithful  to  the  original,  the  manu- 
script of  the  Pentateuch,  for  instance.  The  writings 
of  the  New  Testament  offer  the  same  difficulties :  the 
autographs  may  not  have  contained  a  single  mistake, 
but  they  are  not  at  our  command.  The  nearest  to  the 
original  are  several  Greek  manuscripts  copied  during 
the  age  of  Constantine,  and  some  versions  which  in 
their  present  shape  date  from  the  same  period.  As  the 
variations  even  in  these  oldest  copies  are  considerable, 
some  of  them,  at  least,  were  presumably  made  from  a 
corrupted  text.  None  of  the  versions  made  after  the 
first  Christian  centuries — the  Gothic,  the  Anglo-Saxon, 
the  Lutlieran,  the  King  James,  or  any  other — rest  upon 
anything  better  than  defective  transcripts  of  the  orig- 
inal documents,  at  first,  second,  or  third  hand.  The 
most  that  could  be  said  at  any  time  for  the  last  1600 
years  was,  "Here  is  an  imperfect  copy  of  what  the  Holy 
Ghost  witnessed  to  men." 

2.  The  Church  does  not  need  inerrant  documents. 
They  are  not  indispensable  to  the  authority  or  to  the 
efficient  power  of  Divine  truth.  The  loss  of  the  orig- 
inal autographs,  and  the  inevitable  appearance  of  mis- 


TWO    FACTS   AS   TO    INERRANXY.  337 

takes  in  the  codex,  did  not  detract  one  iota  from  the 
significance  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  to  the  pious  Jews, 
who,  indeed,  are  chargeable  with  bibliolatry  far  more 
justly  than  any  Christian.  And  Jesus  cited  as  author- 
itative the  Septuagint  version  of  the  Scripture,  for 
which  no  scholar  claims  inerrancy ;  but  this  neither 
compromises  His  own  character,  nor  weakens  the 
claims  of  revelation  as  the  power  of  God.  The  ancient 
creeds  were  not  drawn  from  the  autographs,  nor  were 
the  early  councils  guided  by  them ;  yet  some  of  their 
decisions  have  ever  since  been  recognized  as  Divine 
truth.  The  Evangelical  creeds  of  Protestantism  can- 
not claim  to  be  derived  from  the  Scriptures  as  origin- 
ally written.  The  story  of  the  Cross,  whether  received 
by  tradition  or  taken  from  the  Scriptures  as  we  have 
them,  has  proved  itself  the  mightiest  force  in  human 
history.  "Proceeding  persistently  and  irresistibly  on 
its  mission,  it  is  being  translated  into  every  language 
under  heaven,  each  translation  of  necessity  varying 
from  all  others — since  it  is  impossible  to  express  the 
same  thought  with  precisely  the  same  force  in  different 
tongues— each  version  having  confessedly  errors. 
Every  issue  of  the  Scriptures  is  a  greater  or  lesser  cor- 
ruption of  the  original,  yet  who  thinks  of  the  Gospel 
suffering  a  material  loss,  or  privation,  or  deterioration 
from  this  multiplication  of  mistakes?  Who,  but  a 
critic,  troubles  himself  about  the  differences  which  must 
inevitably  obtain  between  all  these  editions  and  the 
original  documents?" 

There  are  variations  of  reading  in  the  manuscripts, 
22 


338  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

and  they  involve  defects  and  errors,  but  none  of  them 
aflPect  any  really  vital  matter.  Of  what  account,  then, 
is  the  contention  about  the  inerrancy  of  the  original 
documents,  when  the  documents  that  we  have  answer 
every  purpose?  Has  the  Church,  with  its  defective 
text,  either  in  knowledge,  or  in  orthodoxy,  or  in  spir- 
itual power,  fallen  one  step  behind  the  body  which  was 
possessed  of  the  inerrant  autographs,  if  they  were  iner- 
rant?  Is  there  any  theological  system,  or  any  evan- 
gelical doctrine,  which,  in  order  to  support  itself,  is 
driven  to  appeal  to  the  original  documents,  with  the 
assurance  that  they  would  effectually  settle  every  dis- 
puted point? 

We  have  fallen  into  conceptions  of  the  Word  of 
God  which  are  entirely  too  mechanical  and  too  arti- 
ficial. We  forget  the  living  and  self-authenticating 
power  of  Divine  truth.  We  talk  as  if  it  were  impos- 
sible for  God  to  put  His  word.  His  quick  and  omnipo- 
tent word,  into  an  imperfect  book.  We  speak  of  the 
authoritative  character  of  revealed  truth  as  though  it 
were  contingent  on  the  vessel  through  which  it  is  borne 
to  us.  God,  in  His  wisdom,  may  have  given  to  His 
people,  in  early  ages,  an  absolutely  inerrant  book,  but 
this  His  providence  has  failed  to  preserve.  But  what- 
ever the  translation  a  man  may  follow,  he  has  an  abso- 
lute guarantee  for  the  soundness  of  his  creed,  the  for- 
giveness of  his  sins,  the  correctness  of  his  conduct,  and 
the  inheritance  of  eternal  life.  The  Scriptures  belong 
to  the  realm  of  truth.  They  open  up  their  treasures 
to  the  believing  heart ;  and  he  to  whom  they  communi- 


TWO    FACTS   AS   TO    INERRANCY.  339 

cate  their  unspeakable  blessings  has  little  concern  in 
the  question  whether  it  can  be  demonstrated  that  the 
original  vessel  could  not  possibly  have  had  a  flaw  or 
blemish. 


XII.    THE  SAVIOUR'S  PRAYER. 

[From    The    Treasury.] 

It  is  a  nice  distinction  that  popular  usage  makes 
between  "the  Lord's  Prayer"  and  "the  Saviour's 
prayer."  Let  a  leader  of  any  devotional  meeting  ask 
the  audience  to  join  him  in  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  all 
lips  begin  at  once  to  repeat  "Our  Father  who  art  in 
Heaven."  When  your  readers  on  the  other  hand  ob- 
serve the  heading  given  above,  their  minds  will  in- 
stantly recur  to  that  most  solemn  and  pathetic  interces- 
sion, which  our  Lord  and  Mediator,  just  as  He  was  en- 
tering Gethsemane,  offered  in  behalf  of  the  unity  of  His 
Church.  The  former  pravc  r  He  formulated  as  a  model 
for  our  approach  to  the  Mercy-seat.  The  latter  is  a 
cry  from  the  depths  of  His  own  heart  appealing  to  the 
Father  for  those  whom  He  was  about  to  leave  as 
orphans  in  the  world. 

In  the  present  universal  yearning  for  closer  rela- 
tions among  the  different  bodies  of  Christians  frequent 
reference  is  made  to  this  "prayer  of  the  Saviour,"  and 
it  is  constantly  cited  by  way  of  enforcing  our  duty  to 
promote  the  unity  of  the  Church  of  Christ.  Many  are, 
indeed,  so  absorbed  in  this  subject  as  to  overlook  the 
fact  that  this  is  but  one  of  the  petitions  of  the  great 
sacerdotal  prayer.  And  it  may  with  truth  be  granted 
that  it  forms  manifestly  the  central  thought,  the  gist 

(340) 


THE   saviour's    PRAYER.  341 

of  that  whole  scries  of  petitions  recorded  in  the  seven- 
teenth chapter  of  John's  Gospel.  The  melancholy  pros- 
pect of  distraction  among  His  followers,  that  loomed 
before  His  all-seeing  vision,  was  evidently  the  chief  bur- 
den which  at  that  moment  weighed  down  the  Redeemer's 
heart,  the  black,  portentous  cloud  which  overshadowed 
the  future  joy  for  the  sake  of  which  He  was  about  to 
endure  the  cross.  And  the  thrice-repeated  cry  for  its 
removal,  like  the  three-fold  prayer  of  the  agony,  is  cer- 
tainly suggestive  of  the  supreme  solicitude  which  this 
prospect  excited  in  the  mind  of  the  sin-atoning  Re- 
deemer. "Holy  Father,  keep  through  Thine  own  name 
those  whom  Thou  hast  given  Me,  that  they  may  be 
one  as  we  are."  (v.  11).  "'That  they  all  may  be  one; 
as  Thou,  Father  art  in  Me,  and  I  in  Thee"  (v.  21). 
"That  they  may  be  one,  even  as  we  are  one"  (v.  22). 
If  nothing  else  can  avail  to  arouse  the  Christian  con- 
science on  the  subject  of  unity,  surely  the  emphasis  of 
these  repetitions  in  the  prayer  of  Him  who  "hath  pur- 
chased the  Church  with  His  own  blood."  should  con- 
vince all  His  followers  of  the  guilt  of  promoting  or 
perpetuating  division  and  discord  within  her  pale. 

However,  let  it  be  distinctly  understood,  that  these 
words  of  our  Lord  are  addressed  to  His  Father  and 
not  to  His  followers.  They  are  spoken  to  Heaven,  not 
to  Earth.  The\-  are  specifically  a  prayer,  not  a  com- 
mandment. The  momentous  work  of  uniting  the  re- 
deemed, is  committed  to  the  pleading  Saviour  and 
Advocate  to  the  heart  and  to  the  hands  of  the  infinite 
God,  whose  power  and  wisdom  alone  are  capable  of 
bringing  about  such  a  consummation.     The  creation  of 


342  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

a  united  Church  is  the  work  of  omnipotence  and  not 
the  work  of  men's  hands.     Here  God  must  interpose. 

This  is  essentially  the  first  lesson  which  we  ought 
to  derive  from  this  memorable  prayer,  but  somehow 
we  have  apparently  failed  to  learn  it,  failed  to  be  im- 
pressed with  its  profound  significance.  The  persistent 
and  well-nigh  universal  agitation  of  Christian  union 
has  produced  a  general  conviction  that  this  is  a  work 
of  human  achievement,  that  it  is  responsibility  resting 
upon  the  various  Churches,  that  especially  their  teach- 
ers and  leaders  are  under  solemn  obligations  to  insti- 
tute measures  and  devise  expedients  by  which  the  dis- 
ruptions in  Christ's  body  may  be  healed  and  the  scat- 
tered fragments  of  His  host  united  in  a  Communion 
of  Saints. 

The  "Saviour's  prayer"  is  constantly  quoted  as  if 
it  were  the  bounden  duty  of  the  different  denomina- 
tions to  answer  it.  It  is  practically  viewed  as  a  prayer 
offered  by  Christ  to  His  Church  or  at  all  events  as  an 
injunction  given  to  it,  the  Master  having  adopted  a 
device,  not  unknown  to  some  of  His  servants,  of  inter- 
jecting now  and  then  a  sharp  admonition  in  the  body 
of  a  prayer,  delivering  a  moral  lecture  while  ostensibly 
addressing  the  throne  of  grace.  No  one  assuredly 
could  deliberately  charge  Him  with  such  confusion  or 
adroitness,  yet  in  effect  we  do  it,  and  the  Church  is 
charged  with  flagrant  disloyalty  to  her  head  if  she  fails 
to  regard  His  prayer  and  put  an  end  to  her  divisions. 

Men  accordingly  feel  constrained  from  time  to 
time  to  put  themselves  in  the  place  of  God,  to  take 
into  their  own  hands  what  their  Lord   committed   to 


THE   saviour's   PRAYER.  343 

the  hands  of  His  Father,  to  meddle  presumptuously 
with  what  God  has  reserved  to  His  own  season  and  His 
own  power.  And  what  a  work  they  made  of  it !  What 
Utopian  expedients !  What  laborious  trifling  with  a 
momentous  issue!  What  diplomatic  negotiations! 
What  visionary  alliances  that  will  not  ally !  Wise  and 
good  men  erecting  invincible  barriers  to  union  in  hi^ 
very  attempt  to  remove  them,  opening  with  one  hand 
the  gate  to  a  united  flock,  and  holding  in  the  other  a 
club  to  beat  away  all  the  dear  sheep  that  are  not  marked 
■with  their  sectarian  brand. 

And  this  is  the  melancholy  truth  not  only  with  re- 
gard to  recent  movements  still  fresh  in  memory,  but 
also  with  reference  to  others  more  remote. 

Alas !  for  the  work  of  men's  hands !  Especially 
when  they  encroach  upon  God's  providence  or  attempt 
achievements  which  have  been  notably  reserved  to 
Divine  Providence  and  to  the  peculiar  ofiice  of  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

It  seems  to  require  a  long  experience  and  many 
bitter  disappointments  for  us  to  learn  that  the  unifying 
of  the  Church  of  God  requires  something  more  than 
the  energy  and  enterprise  which  organize  vast  systems 
of  industry  and  of  commerce,  which  build  great  com- 
monwealths and  conserve  the  peace  of  nations.  Only 
as  we  shall  come  to  measure  the  stupendous  difficulties 
which  obstruct  this  work  and  trace  those  difficulties  to 
their  mighty  roots  in  the  pride  and  prejudice  and  pas- 
sion of  human  nature,  will  we  be  driven  to  the  confes- 
sion, "with  man  this  is  impossible,  but  with  God  all 
things  are  possible." 


344  I'HE    HIGHER    ROCK, 

Our  only  hope  for  the  unity  of  the  Church  Hes 
there  where  the  Lord  Himself  looked  for  it — in  the 
Father's  great  heart.  And  we  joyfully  look  for  the  day 
when  Christ's  people  shall  be  one,  not  because  we  have 
faith  in  what  is  devised  or  proposed  for  this  end  in  any 
quarter,  but  because  the  only-begotten  Son  prayed  to 
His  Father  for  this  result,  and  we  know  that  the  Father 
always  heareth  Him. 

It  becomes  us,  indeed,  to  be  in  accord  with  our 
Master's  prayer,  to  have  in  this  as  in  all  things  the  same 
mind  which  dwelt  in  Him.  It  devolves  upon  us,  too, 
to  pray  ourselves  as  He  prayed,  to  keep  on  repeating 
His  prayer.  What  else  is  meant  by  praying  in  His 
name?  And  our  conduct,  to  be  consistent,  must  of 
course  move  in  line  with  our  prayers,  "endeavoring  to 
keep  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace,"  but 
we  must  distinguish  between  what  is  God's  province 
and  what  is  ours,  and  the  warrant,  the  incentive,  the 
purpose  and  the  faith  of  our  praying  and  our  actions 
must  all  be  based  upon  and  determined  by  the  prayer 
of  the  mediating  Son  to  the  Almighty  Father. 

"By  strength  of  ours  can  naught  be  done."  Super- 
human power  and  superhuman  wisdom  are  here  requi- 
site as  much  as  they  were  in  reducing  the  chaos  of  mat- 
ter into  the  majestic  unity  of  this  universal  frame. 

And  it  will  greatly  help  the  cause  for  all  to  bear  this 
reverently  in  mind.  There  is  nothing  gained  by  men 
attempting  to  run  ahead  of  God's  leading  or  by  giving 
a  push  to  the  slow  wheels  of  the  divine  chariot.  We 
must  bide  the  King's  time  and  hold  ourselves  in  instant 
readiness  for  the  first  notice  of  His  approach. 


THE   saviour's   PRAYER.  345 

No  very  marked  improvement  in  the  relation  of 
the  different  denominations  need  be  expected  until  a 
sigTial  is  noted  as  it  were  in  the  sky,  and  in  conjunction 
with  it  a  mighty  moving  of  the  Holy  Ghost  upon  the 
minds  and  hearts  of  men. 

Jehovah  found  a  way  of  re-uniting  the  twelve 
tribes  of  ancient  Israel — through  the  terrible  ordeals  of 
exile  and  a  long  captivity.  The  same  Lord  put  an  end 
to  the  monstrous  strife  which  in  the  first  century  of  the 
Church  raged  between  Jewish  and  Gentile  Christians, 
by  reducing  to  ashes  the  splendid  and  holy  temple 
whose  continuing  worship  had  blinded  the  Jewish  be- 
lievers to  the  essentials  of  salvation.  The  fires  of  over- 
whelming catastrophe  have  in  the  past  proved  the  all- 
potent  agency  for  fusing  together  the  diverse  elements 
of  God's  kingdom.  And  all  the  indications  of  revela- 
tion and  all  the  lessons  of  history  induce  the  belief  that 
in  God's  own  time  the  flames  of  His  furnaces  will  con- 
sume our  sectarian  idols,  extinguish  the  dissensions  and 
contentions  of  His  people,  and  melt  them  into  a  unity 
which  has  its  ideal  and  prototype  in  the  union  of  the 
Son  with  the  Father. 


XIII.    THE  GOLDEN  CENSER  IN  THE  HOLY 
OF  HOLIES. 

[From    Pulpit    Treasury.] 

The  writer  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  in  enu- 
merating the  sacred  furniture  of  the  tabernacle,  speaks, 
in  chapter  ix.  3,  of  the  Holy  of  Holies  "having  a  golden 
censer."  That  is,  he  says  this  according  to  both  the  ac- 
cepted and  revised  versions.  That  this  translation  is 
ordinarily  a  proper  rendering  of  the  original  term 
(thumiaterion)  is  beyond  dispute.  And  besides  our 
English  translations,  such  authorities  may  be  quoted 
for  it  as  Luther,  the  Douay  version,  the  Vulgate, 
Peschito  and  others.  That  this  translation  is,  however, 
inadmissible  here  follows  from  three  insuperable  diffi- 
culties. 

I.  Nowhere  in  the  Old  Testament  is  there  any 
mention  of  a  particular  censer,  specially  designed  for 
the  services  on  the  great  day  of  Atonement  and  laid 
away  permanently  for  that  purpose  in  the  Holy  of 
Holies.  Had  there  been  such  a  censer  the  fact  must 
have  been  well  known  to  the  readers  of  this  Epistle, 
for  their  familiarity  with  the  Levitical  ritual  is  every- 
where presupposed.  It  is  spoken  of  here  in  connection 
with  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  therefore  of  like  impor- 
tance  with   it — an  essential   feature  of  the  most  holv 

(346) 


GOLDEN   CENSER    IN    THE    HOLY   OF    HOLIES.     347 

place,  yet  not  a  reference  to  any  such  censer  was  con- 
tained in  their  Hterature. 

2.  Had  the  censer  required  by  the  high-priest  on 
tiie  day  of  Atonement  been  kept  within  the  Holy  of 
HoHes,  we  cannot  see  how  it  could  possibly  have  served 
its  purpose  on  that  day.  Admission  to  that  part  of  the 
sanctuary  was  forbidden  on  pain  of  death  to  all  but  the 
high-priest,  and  to  him  it  was  accorded  only  on  that 
great  day  and  then  only  on  condition  of  his  holding  a 
smoking  censer  before  him  that  the  ascending  cloud 
might  protect  the  mercy-seat  from  his  gaze  "so  that  he 
die  not."  If  "censer"  be  accepted  as  the  proper  term 
here,  then  the  first  act  of  the  high-priest  on  that  great 
day  must  have  been  a  dreadful  profanation  of  the  sanc- 
tuary. For  without  any  screen  before  his  eyes  he  must 
go  within  the  veil  to  bring  out  the  censer,  before  he 
can  have  this  vessel  in  which  to  place  the  burning  coals 
from  the  altar  before  the  Lord  and  the  beaten  incense 
with  which  to  approach  the  Shekinah  on  the  mercy-seat. 
To  get  the  censer,  without  which  he  dare  not  enter  the 
most  holy  place,  he  must  first  enter  it  in  order  to  get 
the  censer ! 

3.  Grant  that  the  term  censer  is  here  the  proper 
equivalent  of  the  original  and  we  are  confronted  with 
the  amazing  and  inconceivable  alternative  that  the 
Apostle,  while  undertaking  to  enumerate  the  sacred 
furniture  of  the  two  divisions  of  the  sanctuary,  fails  to 
mention  the  golden  altar  incense — in  some  respects 
the  most  important  article  within  the  sacred  enclosure ; 
for  besides  its  daily  use  in  the  ofTering  of  the  morning 
and  evening  incense,  the  blood  of  the  higher  grades  of 


348  THE   HIGHER   ROCK. 

sacrifice  was  always  put  upon  the  horns  of  the  altar  of 
incense,  and  once  a  year,  the  very  day  the  high-priest 
entered  the  most  holy  place,  the  blood  of  the  Atonement, 
part  of  which  had  been  sprinkled  toward  the  mercy- 
seat,  was  also  applied  to  the  horns  of  this  altar 
and  sprinkled  seven  times  at  its  base,  the  ritual  in 
connection  with  the  altar  of  incense  corresponding 
with  the  procedure  within  the  veil.  What  took 
place  at  the  mercy-seat  is  virtually  repeated  at 
the  altar  of  incense.  So  nearly  of  the  same  rank 
are  these  two  constituents  of  the  sanctuary.  Surely 
we  must  have  a  satisfactory  explanation  for  the  absence 
of  this  altar  from  the  Apostle's  inventory  of  the  taber- 
nacle, before  we  can  consent  to  translate  "thumiater- 
ion"  by  censer — if  it  admits  of  any  other  translation. 

This  it  does  admit  of.  This  very  term  is  the  com- 
mon designation  with  both  Philo  and  Josephus  for  the 
altar  of  incense,  and  the  style  of  the  author  of  this 
epistle  bears,  at  all  events,  in  many  respects  a  close 
resemblance  to  that  of  those  Jewish  writers.  Instead, 
then,  of  using  here  the  word  censer,  a  vessel  of  incense, 
let  us  employ  the  term  altar  of  incense,  and  all  the 
difficulties  named  will  vanish. 

But  this  only  confronts  us  with  a  new  difficulty, 
more  formidable  and  perplexing  at  first  sight  than 
those  involved  in  the  censer.  The  "thumiaterion,"  says 
the  text,  is  contained  in  the  Holy  of  Holies,  whereas 
the  altar  of  incense  stood  in  the  holy  place  in  front  of 
the  inner  curtain.  Surely  the  writer  could  not  have 
been  ignorant  of  this  fact.    And  for  us  to  translate  this 


GOLDEN   CENSER    IN    THE    HOLY   OF    HOLIES.     349 

word  "altar  of  incense"  seems  to  be  a  square  contra- 
diction of  his  statement.  But  we  have  here  pos- 
sibly a  case  where  the  letter  must  not  be  strained  at 
the  expense  of  the  spirit.  There  is  no  greater  perver- 
sion of  the  Scriptures  than  a  method  of  exegesis  which 
sacrifices  to  the  letter  the  obvious  sense  and  intent  of 
the  author.  Although  its  local  position  was  in  front  of 
the  curtain,  the  Apostle  has  good  grounds  for  connect- 
ing this  altar  with  the  apparatus  of  the  Holy  of  Holies. 
We  have  already  seen  what  an  important  relation  is 
sustained  to  the  innermost  part  of  the  sanctuary  on  the 
greatest  and  most  solemn  festival  of  the  year,  the  only 
day  on  which  even  the  high-priest  could  pass  within 
the  veil.  The  incense,  under  the  rising  cloud  of  which 
alone  he  dared  to  approach  the  Shekinah,  must  be 
taken  from  this  altar,  and  the  atoning  blood  of  the  sac- 
rificial victims  which  was  sprinkled  before  the  mercy- 
seat  was  also  applied  to  it. 

The  altar  of  incense  really  belonged  to  the  one  Ser- 
vice which  was  annually  conducted  in  the  Holy  of 
Holies.  On  that  day  of  days  it  was  to  all  intents  a 
part  of  the  most  holy  place — was  indispensable  to  it. 
For  this  very  reason,  probably,  it  was  put  directly  in 
front  of  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  "before  the  veil  that 
is  by  the  ark  of  the  testimony,"  "before  the  mercy-seat 
that  is  over  the  testimony" — placed  in  such  close  prox- 
imity to  the  latter  that  it  might  be  most  conveniently 
used  in  conjunction  with  it  in  the  supreme  act  of  expia- 
tion made  for  the  people  on  the  day  of  Atonement. 
This  view  is  confirmed  by  I.  Kings  vi.  22,  where  just 


350  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

as  here  the  altar  oi  incense  is  connected  with  the  Holy 
of  Holies.  It  is  there  designated  "the  altar  that  was 
by" — "that  belonged  to"  (Rev.)  "the  oracle."  Like 
our  text  this  passage  regards  the  altar  as  properly  be- 
longing to  the  Holy  of  Holies,  although  it  was  neces- 
sarily stationed  in  the  holy  place  that  the  priests  might 
have  it  for  the  daily  offering  of  incense  and  for  the 
application  of  blood  in  connection  with  some  of  the 
individual  sacrifices. 

It  must  be  remembered,  too,  that  the  chief  aim  of 
this  epistle  is  the  elucidation  of  the  types  and  symbol- 
ism of  the  Old  Testament  so  as  to  fortify  the  wavering 
faith  of  the  Hebrew  Christians.  The  Holy  of  Holies 
with  its  divine  presence  is  the  symbol  of  Heaven,  and 
incense  is  the  standard  symbol  of  prayer.  The  heavenly 
scene  disclosed  in  Rev.  viii.  3,  4,  shows  a  golden  altar 
before  the  throne  and  the  smoke  of  the  incense  with 
the  prayers  of  the  saints  ascending  up  before  God.  This 
is  in  striking  harmony  with  the  position  maintained  in 
this  paper.  And  this  confirmation  becomes  yet  stronger 
when  we  notice  the  Old  Testament  as  well  as  the  New 
speal<ing  of  an  altar  in  Heaven.     (Is.  vi.  6.) 

Following  now  the  inspired  analysis  of  the  sacred 
symbolism,  recognizing  the  golden  altar  in  Heaven  as 
the  antitype  of  that  in  the  sanctuary  of  this  world  (the 
pattern  was  given  to  Moses  on  the  Mount)  and  remem- 
bering, too,  that  the  eternal  High-Priest  in  entering  the 
true  Holy  of  Holies  rent  asunder  forever  the  separ- 
ating veil,  we  may  readily  understand  how  the  Apostle 
conceived  the  idea  of  connecting  the  typical  altar  of 


GOLDEN   CENSER    IN    THE    HOLY   OF    HOLIES.     35 1 

incense  with  the  typical  Holy  of  Holies  upon  earth. 
The  latter  had,  accordingly,  not  the  censer,  but  the  altar 
of  incense.  It  is  indeed  very  surprising  that  the  revisers 
did  not  revise  this  passage. 


XIV.    "  HE  BEING  DEAD  YET  SPEAKETH." 

[From    Homiletic    Review.] 

Here  is  a  passage  frequently  used  as  the  text  of  a 
sermon,  and  we  believe,  in  most  instances  according  to 
a  false  interpretation.  It  occurs  in  that  brilliant  catalog" 
of  the  ancient  heroes  of  faith  and  their  glorious  ex- 
ploits which  is  furnished  by  chapter  xi.  of  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews,  Abel  holding  historically  the  first  place 
among  those  who  on  account  of  faith  "had  witness 
borne  to  them,"  or  better  (the  authorized  version), 
"who  by  faith  obtained  a  good  report." 

"By  faith  Abel  offered  unto  God  a  more  excellent 
sacrifice  than  Cain,  through  which  he  had  witness  borne 
to  him  that  he  was  righteous,  God  bearing  witness  in  re- 
spect of  his  gifts;  and  through  it  [i.  e.,  through  faith] 
he  being  dead  yet  speaketh."  The  popular  interpreta- 
tion takes  "yet,"  ert ,  as  temporal  and  puts  the  empha- 
sis on  it.  Although  for  ages  numbered  with  the  dead, 
the  first  of  mankind  to  die,  this  martyr  still  speaks  to 
us,  his  faith  still  serves  as  an  example,  his  conviction 
of  the  invisible  and  future  world  which  prompted  him 
to  bring  unto  God  the  "firstlings  of  the  flock  and  of  the 
fat  thereof,"  while  Cain  simply  "brought  of  tlie  fruit 
of  the  ground  an  offering  to  the  Lord,"  still  preaches 
to  us  as  a  sermon  challenging  our  imitation.  The  long 
lapse  of  centuries  can  not  break  the  force  of  that  lesson. 

(352) 


"  HE    BEING    DEAD    YET   SPEAKETH."  353 

Tliis  will,  in  all  probability,  be  g-iven  by  nine  out  of 
every  ten  ministers  as  their  understanding  of  the  pass- 
age, if  asked  for  an  impromptu  interpretation. 

The  wonder  is  that  the  non  scquitur  of  such  a  ren- 
dering does  not  more  readily  occur  to  them.  Look  at 
the  logic  it  involves.  The  writer  aims  to  enforce  the 
importance  and  the  power  of  faith.  For  this  purpose 
he  holds  up  before  the  staggering  Hebrew-Christians 
tlie  marvelous  exhibition  of  faith  presented  by  the  patri- 
archs and  the  ancient  worthies  of  Israel,  and  reminds 
them  at  the  same  time  of  the  mighty  results  accom- 
plished by  their  faith.  In  the  magnificent  summary  of 
verses  33-35,  he  reaches  the  climax,  when,  having 
named  Gideon,  Barak,  Samson,  Jephthah,  David,  Sam- 
uel, and  the  prophets,  he  credits  them  with  having 
through  faith  "subdued  kingdoms,  wrought  righteous- 
ness, obtained  promises,  stopped  the  mouths  of  lions, 
quenched  the  power  of  fire,  escaped  the  edge  of  the 
sword,  from  weakness  were  made  strong,  waxed  mighty 
in  war,  turned  to  flight  armies  of  aliens,  women  re- 
ceived their  dead  by  a  resurrection,"  etc. 

What  now  was  the  gain,  the  achievement,  the  deliv- 
erance, vouchsafed  to  Abel,  which  will  serve  as  an 
incitement  to  faith  with  the  readers  of  this  epistle,  who, 
being  hard  pressed  by  the  fiery  trials  of  their  faith, 
were  in  danger  of  apostatizing?  He  succeeded  indeed 
through  faith  in  offering  to  God  a  more  excellent  sacri- 
fice than  Cain.  God  bore  testimony  to  its  greater  ac- 
ceptability, but  what  did  that,  after  all,  amount  to? 
What  good  came  to  Abel  from  it?  What  reward  for 
being    faithful?"      What    was   the    crown    awarded    his 

23 


354  THE   HIGHER   ROCK. 

faith?  According  to  the  common  rendering,  he  has 
been  made  an  example  to  us.  Tho'  dead  he  continues 
to  speak  to  us.  Of  what?  Of  the  rewards  of  faith? 
The  only  reward  we  know  of  is  that  "Cain  rose  up 
against  his  brother  and  slew  him."  "And  wherefore 
slew  he  him?  Because  his  own  works  were  evil  and 
his  brother's  righteous"  (i  John  iii.  12).  Would  this 
be  a  powerful  argument  to  men  whose  faith  had  been 
badly  shaken  by  the  disappointments  of  the  Christian 
life?  Would  they  derive  from  such  an  example  rich- 
ness of  encouragement  to  hold  on  to  the  confession  of 
their  hope  that  it  waver  not  (x.  23),  the  admonition 
which  chapter  xi.  is  designed  to  enforce?  Abel  had 
faith,  and  the  final  result  of  his  faith  was  to  suffer 
murder  at  the  hands  of  his  brother.  His  example,  there- 
fore, even  to  this  day,  appeals  to  us  to  follow  him,  to 
maintain  our  faith.  "Cast  not  away,  therefore,  your 
confidence,  which  hath  great  recompense  of  reward" 

(x.  35)- 

The  true  rendering  is  brought  out,  we  think,  by 
taking  "yet,"  ert,  as  not  temporal  but  logical.  It 
serves  them  to  bring  out  the  contrast  between  Abel's 
"being  dead"  and  his  speaking:  although  dead  "he 
speaketh."  This  is  the  rendering  of  Liinemann, 
Delitzsch,  von  Soden,  Ebrard,  Holtzheuer,  and  others. 

"The  true  interpretation,"  says  Delitzsch,  "is  at 
oiice  suggested  by  a  reference  to  the  original  text.  Gen. 
iv.  10,  'Hark,  thy  brother's  blood  crieth  unto  me  from 
the  ground ;'  and  to  chapter  xii.  24  of  our  Epistle,  when 
the  blood  of  Jesus  that  cries  for  mercy  is  contrasted 
with  that  of  Abel  which  cries  for  vengeance  (cf.  Rev. 


''  HE  BEING  DEAD  YET  SPEAKETH."    355 

vi.  9-1 1 )  and  for  a  divine  testimony  on  his  behalf." 
Remembering  that,  according  to  the  Old  Testament,  the 
soul  is  in  the  blood,  the  warm,  fresh,  still-pulsating 
blood ;  the  cry  of  Abel's  blood  which  comes  into  the 
ears  of  God  is  proof  that  the  righteous,  even  after 
death,  remains  a  living  personality,  that  he  is  neither 
destroyed  nor  forgotten  before  God,  but  remains  an 
object  of  His  care.  Only  a  living  man  has  the  power 
of  speech,  yet  Abel  after  he  was  slain  speaks  unto  God, 
and  God  acts  in  his  behalf  as  if  he  were  still  living.  He 
avenges  his  blood  upon  Cain,  but  dead  men  can  not  be 
avenged,  and  God  is  not  a  God  of  the  dead  but  of  the 
living. 

The  key  to  this  rendering  is  furnished  in  x.  38, 
in  that  passage  which  is  the  proper  introduction  10 
chapter  xi. :  "But  My  righteous  one  shall  live  by  faith." 
The  promise  assured  to  faith  is  life,  eternal  life,  that 
life  to  which  death  is  but  the  portal,  the  transition. 
Faith  saves  the  soul  intact  (x.  39)  whatever  may  hap- 
pen to  the  body. 

And  for  the  confirmation  of  it  one  need  but  study 
the  context.  Take  Enoch,  the  next  example  of  faith. 
As  Abel  through  faith  lives  on  in  communion  with 
God,  so  by  faith  also  Enoch  escaf)ed  altogether  the 
pains  of  death.  Miraculously  exempted  from  dissolu- 
tion he  passed  out  of  this  world  alive.  He  was  lifted 
above  the  power  of  death  as  a  reward  of  his  faith  in 
the  living  God.  Faith  brings  us  into  union  and  fellow- 
ship with  God,  and  those  united  to  the  living  God  can 
never  be  really  dead,  for  fellowship  with  God  is  man's 
true  destiny. 


356  THE   HIGHER    ROCK. 

Noah's  case  is  another  illustration  of  the  death- 
conquering  power  of  faith.  It  enabled  him  to  rescue 
himself  and  his  house  from  a  judgment  of  universal 
death. 

And  so  the  thought  of  immortality  dominates  the 
entire  chapter.  Faith  is  the  guarantee  and  the  condi- 
tion of  eternal  life.  When  Abraham  reached  the  land 
of  promise,  he,  along  with  Isaac  and  Jacob,  continued 
to  dwell  in  tents,  for  he  looked  for  the  city  which  hath 
the  foundations.  They  sojourned  in  Canaan  as  aliens, 
the  instincts  of  their  faith  aspiring  to  a  higher  and 
heavenly  possession,  the  true  home  of  the  soul.  "Their 
desires  reached  on  and  upwards  to  the  eternal  city." 

With  God  death  does  not  count.  From  Abraham, 
who  was  "as  good  as  dead,"  sprang  so  many  as  the 
stars  of  heaven  in  multitude,  and  as  the  sand  which  is 
by  the  seashore,  innumerable.  And  afterward  being 
tried  he  "offered  up  Isaac"  as  the  one  hope  of  the  ful- 
filment of  the  promise,  "accounting  that  God  is  able  to 
raise  up,  even  from  the  dead."  And  it  was  tliis  same 
prospect  of  life  and  death,  "the  recompense  of  reward," 
which  inspired  and  sustained  Moses  in  declining  royal 
honors,  in  preferring  evil  treatment  with  God's  people 
rather  than  the  temporary  pleasures  of  sin,  in  appro- 
priating the  reproach  of  Christ  rather  than  the  treas- 
ures of  Egypt.  Faith  triumphs  over  death.  The  right- 
eous— and  none  are  righteous  but  by  faith — live  for- 
ever. Abel,  though  dead,  retains  the  power  of  speech, 
a  voice  which  resounds  in  the  ear  of  Jehovah. 


XV.    THE  EASTER  FACT. 

[From  The   Independent.] 

"I  believe  the  Easter  announcement  and  I  accept 
its  deductions."  With  this  protestation  Delitzsch  begins 
the  preface  to  the  last  edition  of  his  Genesis,  in  which 
he  acknowledges  his  surrender  to  the  general  results  of 
the  Higher  Criticism.  Those  acquainted  with  the  con- 
ditions under  which  these  words  were  spoken  cannot 
mistake  their  pathos,  neither  can  they  misunderstand 
their  note  of  defiance. 

Standing  on  the  summit  of  fame  as  a  Hebraist, 
seeing  his  life-work  overwhelmed  by  the  avalanche  of 
criticism,  and  sadly  contemplating  the  wreck  of  the  Old 
Testament  made  by  the  destructive  school,  he  recalls 
the  Easter  message,  he  retreats  to  the  open  sepulchre, 
he  plants  his  foot  upon  that  impregnable  rock  and  de- 
fies the  critics.  They  cannot  annihilate  the  Easter  vic- 
tory, they  cannot  dispossess  him  of  this  buttress  and 
fortress  of  Christianity,  they  cannot  rob  him  of  the 
priceless  deductions  secured  by  that  triumph. 

What  a  slogan  this  offers  for  the  battle  in  behalf  of 
the  faith !  The  Church  is  in  the  throes  of  a  conflict 
raging  around  those  sacred  oracles  which  for  ages  have 
been  the  source  and  norm  of  her  teachings.  Tenets 
firmly  held  since  the  first  promulgation  of  the  Gospel 
and  deemed  fundamental  are  hotly  contested,  and  insti- 

(357) 


358  THE   HIGHER    ROCK. 

tutions  long  revered  as  indispensable  marks  and  ve- 
hicles of  spiritual  life  are  profanely  undermined.  But 
challenging  criticism  as  baffling  science  stands  the 
empty  sepulchre ;  which  makes  every  intelligent  Chris- 
tian certain  of  his  creed.  The  one  event  established 
beyond  question,  the  most  august  and  the  most  momen- 
tous event  in  human  history,  is  the  bodily  resurrection 
of  Jesus.  In  the  teeth  of  natural  law,  in  the  teeth  of 
experience,  despite  a  military  patrol,  and  a  more  vigi- 
lant ecclesiastical  guard  whose  power  hinged  on  the 
eventuality.  He  abandoned  the  grave  on  the  third  day, 
and  with  the  identical  body  in  which  He  had  expired 
on  the  cross,  showed  Himself  alive  to  His  disciples  by 
many  infallible  proofs. 

This  consummation,  irrefutable,  incontestable,  su]:)- 
plies  the  superhuman  certificate  to  the  supernatural 
claims  of  Jesus,  God  having  given  assurance  unto  all 
men  in  that  He  raised  Him  from  the  dead. 

What  if  the  Pentateuch  is  not  the  work  of  Moses  ? 
What  if  the  several  Hebrew  writings  are  for  the  most 
part  composite?  What  if  the  Psalms  are  not  the 
poetry  of  David?  What  if  another  Isaiah  is  con- 
founded with  the  evangelical  prophet?  Nay  more! 
Let  the  destructive  wave  surge  against  the  Magna 
Charta  of  the  Church,  let  the  Fourth  Gospel  be  referred 
to  "some  great  Unknown,"  and  the  others  be  made  out 
a  patchwork  of  sources ;  let  the  authority  of  the  Apos- 
tolic letters  be  gainsaid,  one  bulwark  of  Christianity 
remains,  one  fact  cannot  be  wiped  out,  one  truth  under- 
lies the  Church  like  the  rock  of  Gibraltar — the  Easter 
announcement  cannot  be  impugned. 


\ 


THE   EASTER    FACT.  359 

Is  this  scouted  as  extravag^ancc.  as  ignoring  the 
reign  of  natural  law?  Is  it  objected  that  the  tests  of 
physical  science  apply  to  all  data  in  the  physical  realm, 
and  that  their  adamantine  conclusions  contradict  point- 
blank  the  possibility  of  a  resurrection? 

One  thing  science  will  not  contradict,  viz.,  that  the 
disciples  of  Jesus  believed  it.  Physicists  may  read  His 
resurrection  out  of  the  category'  of  possibilities ;  but  no 
man  of  intelligence  will  deny  that  His  immediate  fol- 
lowers believed  it  to  have  actually  occurred  ;  that  when 
they  manifested  obstinate  doubt,  the  Risen  ( )ne  was  at 
pains  to  give  them  ocular  and  tangible  demonstrations 
of  it ;  and  that,  having  been  through  the  practically 
certain  test  of  personal  experience  convinced,  they  were 
so  overpowered  by  the  sense  of  its  reality,  and  of  its  im- 
port that  they  made  it  the  business  of  their  life  at  every 
hazard  to  testify  of  it.  Within  a  few  weeks  of  the 
occurrence,  and  in  the  midst  of  a  population  passion- 
ately interested  in  denying  their  affirmation — to  (|Uote 
Liddon — they  took  every  opportunity  of  saying  virtu- 
ally :  "Christianity  is  true.  It  is  true  because  Christ  has 
risen  from  death."  "On  every  occasion,  with  almost 
every  opponent,  in  almost  every  sermon,  they  put  forth 
the  resurrection  as  their  reason  for  being  what  they 
were,  and  for  saying  what  they  did."  They  felt  that 
the  truth  of  Christianity  and  its  claims  upon  the  minds 
and  hearts  of  men  depend  upon  the  literal  truth  of  the 
resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  they  staked  every- 
thing on  its  promulgation. 

Twelve  men  of  most  varied  temperament,  of  unim- 
peachable veracity,  some  of  them  endowed  with  trans- 


360  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

cendent  intellects,  facing  odium,  violence  and  a  felon's 
death,  traversed  the  civilized  world  bearing  the  Easter 
tidings  and  by  means  of  it  wrought  the  most  beneficent 
and  far-reaching  social  revolution  known  to  history. 
Baur's  admission  that  without  the  belief  in  the  resur- 
rection Christianity  could  not  have  entered  on  its  world- 
conquering  career,  is  the  consensus  of  historians. 

What,  now%  has  science  to  say  concerning  this 
belief?  How  are  we  to  account  for  its  origin?  The 
fitful  faith  of  the  disciples  in  the  Messiahship  of  their 
Master  having  been  crushed  on  Calvary,  what  occurred 
that  not  only  revived  their  faith  but  developed  it  into  a 
firm  conviction  that  He  had  risen  from  the  dead  ?  What 
was  it  if  not  the  miracle  itself,  which  absolutely  changed 
the  blackest  night  into  the  brightest  day? 

Here  is  a  historic  phenomenon,  positively  uncon- 
tested, a  real  experience  demanding  explanation.  What 
instrumentality,  what  process  brought  it  about? 

Science  does  not  disdain  the  challenge.  It  has 
strenuously  endeavored  to  trace  this  belief  to  natural 
causes.  Intellectual  Titans  have  wrestled  with  the  prob- 
lem and  have  set  up  bold  and  ingenious  hypotheses  ac- 
counting for  the  belief,  while  scouting  the  miracle. 

It  was  inspired,  some  claim,  by  the  recovery  of 
Jesus  from  a  swoon  on  the  cross.  The  gradual  resusci- 
tation of  His  lacerated  form,  the  re-animation  of  His 
ghastly  face,  flashed  upon  the  minds  of  His  recreant 
devotees  the  idea  of  a  resurrection,  and  this  quickly 
transformed  into  the  purpose  of  rallying  the  race  to  His 
standard. 

Or,  their  passionate  faith  in  His  Messiahship  had 


I 


THE    EASTER    FACT.  361 

reached  such  a  pitch  that  tliere  appeared  to  them  vividly 
projected  into  space  images  which  were  simph-  the 
phantasms  of  the  brain — a  theory  that  reverses  tiie  his- 
toric sequence,  which  ascribes  their  final  faith  in  His 
Messiahship  to  their  persuasion  of  His  resurrection. 

Or,  critics  who  recognize  that  after  their  expecta- 
tions had  been  annihilated  by  the  denouement  of  Good 
Friday  such  visions  are  unthinkable,  would  have  us  be- 
lieve that  Jesus  from  the  spirit  world  kept  Himself  in 
communication  with  His  orphaned  followers,  and  that 
these  reassuring  manifestations  were  mistaken  for  ob- 
jective bodily  appearances— a  theory  which  savors  of 
modern  spiritualism. 

Or,  when  the  Apostles  used  language  which  Jews 
and  Gentiles  alike  understood  of  a  reincorporated  life, 
perceptible  to  the  senses,  they  meant  nothing  more  than 
their  vivid  realization  of  unbroken  spiritual  fellowship 
with  their  Master.  Though  He  had  departed  this  life 
they  could  still,  as  it  were,  repose  upon  His  bosom. 

But  why  so  many  theories?  Why  so  manv  wea- 
pons to  strike  down  a  fanciful  misconception  when  any 
of  them  is  deemed  fatal?  Would  not  one  suffice? 
Which  one?  Which  theory  have  the  critics  united  on 
as  a  satisfactory  explanation  of  the  origin  of  the  belief 
in  the  resurrection  of  Jesus? 

The  soundness  of  these  several  hypotheses  which 
palpably  create  more  difficulties  than  they  solve,  and 
get  rid  of  the  supernatural  only  by  recourse  to  a  bas- 
tard supernaturalism,  needs  not  to  be  tested  here.  They 
have  each  in  turn  been  pronounced  absurd,  unreason- 
able,   impossible— not    by    apologists,    but    by    scholars 


362  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

who  disbelieve  the  resurrection.  The  hypothesis  of  each 
doubter  is  shattered  by  his  successor,  and  the  greatest 
of  them  all,  Ferdinand  C.  Baur,  assuming  that  faith  in 
the  fact  was  not  to  be  disputed,  perceiving  the  unsatis- 
factory character  of  all  naturalistic  explanations,  and 
regarding  this  faith  as  a  mystery  which  defies  solution 
apart  from  actual  occurrence,  discreetly  saved  his  repU" 
tation  by  not  venturing  on  any  explanation. 

The  present  situation  is  that  of  a  beleaguered  fort- 
ress, which  when  its  defenders  come  to  the  rescue,  is 
found  without  a  breach  and  with  no  foe  in  sight,  the 
assailants  having  fallen  on  each  other  and  by  mutual 
slaughter  cleared  the  field.  The  task  of  believers  has 
been  accomplished  by  unbelievers. 

Naturalism  has  met  a  Waterloo  in  the  Easter  an- 
nouncement. Its  belief  by  the  primitive  missionaries 
who  by  means  of  it  overturned  the  world  cannot  be 
accounted  for  apart  from  the  veritable  occurrence,  and 
it  is  therefore  a  proof  of  the  existence  of  its  correlate. 
Science  is  dumb,  reason  staggers,  but  faith  resting  on 
the  unseen,  and  deeming  it  not  incredible  that  God 
should  raise  the  dead,  apprehends  the  truth  that  the 
Lord  of  life  has  conquered  death. 

That  triumph  assured,  unimpugned,  incontrovert- 
ible, its  deductions  are  irresistible.  Quite  in  the  line  of 
Delitzsch's  testimony  is  the  admission  of  Strauss  that 
everything  turns  upon  the  reality  of  the  resurrection. 
That  being  granted,  he  confesses  the  failure  of  every 
naturalistic  view  of  the  life  of  Jesus,  and  his  obligation 
to  retract  all  that  he  had  written.  Had  this  prince  of 
critics  lived  to  see  what  a  wreck  his  successors  have 


THE   EASTER    FACT.  363 

made  of  his  own  theory.  German  fidehty  would  have 
held  him  to  his  pledge. 

The  resurrection  assured,  the  Risen  One  is  de- 
clared to  be  the  Son  of  God  with  power.  He  is  con- 
firmed in  His  superhuman  claims.  He  personates  the 
will  of  the  Eternal.  His  answers  to  the  profoundest 
inquiries  of  the  human  heart  are  final.  His  acceptance 
and  interpretation  of  Old  Testament  Scriptures  stamp 
them  as  authentic  and  authoritative.  It  is  His  preroga- 
tive, also,  to  reveal  and  develop  truth  through  chosen 
men,  and  to  whatever  reductions  their  writings  may 
be  subjected  by  critics,  the  sun  will  pass  from  the  heav- 
ens before  His  word  shall  pass  away.  The  reconstruc- 
tion of  the  documents  containing  the  Gospel  will  no 
more  arrest  its  progress  than  a  revision  of  astronomy 
will  stop  the  revolution  of  the  earth. 

Christianity  is  prepared  to-day,  as  it  was  in  its 
infancy,  to  stake  its  all  on  the  resurrection.  In  this 
proof- fact  it  has  an  adequate,  unassailable  support,  and 
in  it  is  comprehended  the  sum  and  substance  of  its 
creed.  His  resurrection  invests  Jesus  with  a  sovereign 
claim  on  the  faith,  the  allegiance,  and  the  love  of  men. 
It  proves  Him  to  be  our  Lord  and  our  God. 


XVI.    AN  ADDRESS  OF  WELCOME. 

[From   Report  of  Proceedings,    Society  of  the  Army  of  the   Potomac] 

Comrades  of  the  Society  of  the  Army  of  the  Poto- 
mac: The  citizens  of  this  community  have  delegated 
to  me  the  honor  of  voicing  their  cordial  greetings  to 
you  on  this  happy  occasion.  A  more  grateful  office 
could  not  have  been  assigned  me,  although  I  feel  that 
language  cannot  adequately  express  our  appreciation 
of  your  presence,  neither  can  it  properly  describe  the 
significance  of  your  visit. 

Of  all  the  tens  and  hundreds  of  thousands  that 
annually  flock  to  this  Mecca,  who  could  thrill  the  emo- 
tion of  our  hearts  like  the  survivors  of  that  grand  army 
which  made  our  town  immortal !  This  is  too  much  for 
utterance.  I  frankly  confess  that  the  attempt  to  convey 
to  you  a  suitable  welcome  staggers  my  mental  powers. 
I  feel  overwhelmed  by  this  audience.  The  orator  who 
will  do  full  justice  to  your  army  on  this  field  and  on 
scores  of  other  fields  has  yet  to  appear  on  the  stage. 
The  volume  that  will  record  your  services  to  the  coun- 
try in  terms  commensurate  with  your  deserts,  that  will 
fitly  and  faithfully  tell  the  story  of  your  magnificent 
organization,  your  marches,  your  battles,  your  endur- 
ance, your  heroism,  your  triumphs  and  your  trophies, 
has  yet  to  be  written,  and  it  will  demand,  and  some  day 

(364) 


AN    ADDRESS   OF   WELCOME.  365 

employ,  the  hij^hest  attributes  of  historiographical 
genius. 

But  why  should  we,  the  transient  tenants  of  this 
historic  spot,  offer  you  a  welcome  to  its  gates  and  its 
hearth?  The  magnet  which  draws  you  here  is  not  the 
body  of  our  citizens,  honorable  as  they  are,  not  our 
natural  scenery,  picturesque  as  that  is  known  to  be,  nor 
our  educational  institutions,  whatever  their  fame. 
These  things  w'hich  we  call  our  own,  and  of  which  we 
are  justly  proud,  do  not  constitute  Gettysburg  in  the 
eye  of  the  world.  Gettysburg,  the  seat  of  terrific  bat- 
tles ;  Gettysburg,  the  synonym  of  heroism,  valor  and 
glory ;  Gettysburg,  the  cynosure  of  civilized  mankind, 
does  not  belong  to  us.  It  belongs  in  the  first  place  to 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  it  belongs  to  all  who  here 
saved  the  life  of  the  Republic,  it  belongs  to  the  nation, 
it  belongs  to  the  world,  it  belongs  to  the  ages.  Gettys- 
burg is  the  heritage  of  humanity. 

For,  comrades,  the  conflict  here  crowned  with  vic- 
tory was  not  waged  for  territorial  dominion,  it  was  not 
inspired  by  lust  for  power,  it  was  not  aimed  at  national 
aggrandizement.  The  stupendous  sacrifice  was  made, 
our  best  blood  was  poured  out  like  water,  in  defense  of 
the  wisest  and  most  beneficent  government  ever  vouch- 
safed to  mankind,  a  government  securing  the  largest 
liberty  to  the  individual  consistent  with  the  best  inter- 
ests of  the  public,  the  sovereignty  of  the  people  limited 
and  enforced  by  the  majesty  of  law.  Gettysburg  means 
the  irrevocable  resolve  and  pledge  that  this  government 
shall  live,  shall  be  perpetuated,  shall  eventuate  in  the 
federation  of  the  world. 


366  THE   HIGHER   ROCK. 

It  is  not  pre-eminently  our  wars  and  our  victories, 
our  armies,  our  navies,  our  colossal  expansion  and  our 
prodigious  wealth,  that  have  lifted  us  to  the  pinnacle  of 
power,  but  our  institutions,  our  political  principles,  our 
ideals  of  freedom,  our  national  standard  of  virtue. 
These  are  the  vital  forces  from  which  has  risen  our 
splendid  military  and  naval  prowess ;  these  are  the  vital 
factors  which  have  made  possible  the  "appalling  pros- 
perity" and  unexampled  happiness  of  our  people.  To 
these  we  owe  our  industrial,  commercial  and  financial 
supremacy. 

Our  institutions  breed  men,  "Men  who  their  duties 
know.  But  know  their  rights,  and  knowing  dare  main- 
tain." The  vital  fructifying  energy  of  our  civic  ideas, 
the  genius  of  our  civilization,  our  practical  recognition 
of  manhood  and  brotherhood,  are  productive  of  cour- 
age and  confidence,  independence,  intelligence,  initia- 
tive, integrity,  self-restraint,  and  it  is  these  virtues  that 
have  pushed  us  to  the  forefront  in  the  march  of  the 
nations. 

The  behavior  of  our  soldier}-  at  the  fall  of  Pekin, 
in  marked  contrast  with  the  barbarism  of  European 
armies,  and  our  straightforward,  high-minded  and 
equitable  diplomacy  on  the  same  theatre  in  contrast 
with  the  greed  and  the  loot  of  the  other  powers,  have 
shed  a  brighter  and  a  more  enduring  lustre  on  the 
American  name  than  the  annihilation  of  the  Spanish 
Navy  or  the  charge  on  San  Juan  Hill. 

Our  constitutional  democracy,  our  civic  virtues, 
our  American  spirit,  our  public  schools,  our  free  Chris- 
tianity, have  won  for  us  the  hegemony  of  the  planet, 


AN    ADDRESS   OF   WELCOME.  367 

and  these  monumental  ridges  and  valleys  ran  red  witli 
patriotic  blood  in  order  that  the  institutions  which  safe- 
guard such  beneficent  forces  might  be  preserved  for 
unborn  generations.     (Applause.) 


XVII.    JOHN  BURNS  AT  GETTYSBURG. 

[From    The     Star    and     Sentinel.] 

John  Burns  is  no  myth.  The  mediocre  critics  who 
make  a  reputation  for  themselves  by  destroying  the 
reaHty  of  their  superiors  have  not  had  a  sufficient  lapse 
of  time  to  extinguish  the  personality  of  the  hero  of 
Gettysburg.  They  may  have  annihilated  the  historic 
substance  of  Wilhelm  Tell,  and  reduced  to  creatures  of 
the  imagination  others  illustrious  in  story  and  song,  but 
the  sepulchre  of  John  Burns  is  with  us  to  this  day,  and 
the  ground  which  witnessed  his  devotion  and  valor  is 
still  trodden  by  his  contemporaries  and  fellow-towns- 
men, some  of  whom  are  envious  and  some  proud  of  his 
singular  distinction. 

The  sceptical  historian  intent  on  extinguishing  the 
glory  of  John  Burns  will  doubtless  rival  the  exploit  of 
the  notable  phrenologist,  who  without  knowing  his  sub- 
ject, was  asked  on  the  occasion  of  a  visit  to  Gettysburg 
to  examine  the  cranium  of  one  of  our  oldest  and  plain- 
est citizen.  Having  made  a  very  deliberate  explora- 
tion of  the  various  bumps  on  his  head  and  looking  very 
wise,  he  announced  the  result :  a  born  coward !  It  was 
the  hero  of  Gettysburg  on  whom  the  canting  humbug 
pronounced  this  verdict.  John  Burns  was  a  sheer 
reality  of  flesh  and  blood,  for  many  years  a  citizen  of 
Gettysburg,  well  known  for  certain  eccentricities  and 

(368) 


JOHN  BURNS  AT  GETTYSBURG.       369 

possessed  of  a  mind  somewhat  enriched  and  invig-o- 
rated  by  extensive  reading-.  And  John  Burns  was  no 
fraud  as  a  soldier. 

It  may  be  that  on  that  July  morning-,  when  the 
cannon  were  roaring  in  our  immediate  front,  and  a 
storm  of  leaden  rain  and  iron  hail  was  sweeping  over 
these  fields,  the  old  man  came  out  here  to  hunt  his  cows, 
though  10  o'clock  P.  M..  is  not  the  usual  time  for  hunt- 
ing stray  cattle.  It  may  be  that  Gettysburg  cows  have 
a  way  of  wandering-  over  these  parts.  I  have  a  vivid 
recollection  of  having  at  one  time  myself  spent  some 
hours  out  here  looking  for  a  lost  bovine,  but  on  that 
particular  moming  there  was  not  a  large  contingent  of 
Gcttyshurgers  looking  for  cows  around  this  particular 
neck  of  the  woods.  Either  old  Burns  was  the  only  man 
who  then  owned  a  cow  in  Gettysburg  or  he  was  the  only 
man  who  valued  the  source  of  his  milk  and  butter  suffi- 
ciently to  go  searching  for  it  into  the  midst  of  the  fire 
of  two  great  armies.  Hunting  for  cows  was  not  a 
fashionable  pastime  hereabouts  on  July  i,  1863.  It 
was  a  good  deal  more  fashionable  to  hunt  for  a  sub- 
terraneous region  where  strong  men  preferred  their 
coffee  without  cream. 

It  may  l^e  that  this  sturdy  tee-totaller  took  his 
medicine  that  morning  from  the  wrong  bottle,  and  that 
landing  accidentally  among  the  troops  of  two  armies  he 
was  so  drunk  that  he  could  not  tell  a  Union  soldier  from 
a  Confederate,  but  this  charge  reminds  one  of  the 
famous  retort  of  Lincoln  when  some  one  complained  to 
him  of  General  Grant's  drinking  habits :  "I  wish  I  knew 
where  he  gets  his  whiskey,  I  should  like  to  buy  a  lot 
24A 


370  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

of  it  for  some  of  the  other  generals.''  (If  there  ever 
was  any  good  whiskey  John  Bums  must  have  drunk 
the  last  of  it  on  that  eventful  morning.) 

The  fire  that  glowed  in  John  Burns  was  not  set 
aflame  by  ardent  spirits.  It  was  burning  there  in  1812 
when  he  fought  for  his  adopted  country  against  the 
British.  It  was  glowing  in  his  breast  when  at  the  age 
of  almost  three-score  and  ten  he  immediately  on  the 
outbreak  of  the  Civil  War,  sought  to  enlist  in  the  regi- 
ment commanded  by  his  townsman,  Col.  C.  H.  Buehler. 
Rejected  here,  because  beyond  the  regulation  fighting 
years,  the  same  patriotic  ardor  made  him  apply  later  for 
a  place  in  Capt.  E.  B.  McPherson's  company,  which 
became  connected  with  the  Pennsylvania  Reserves,  and 
when  finally  he  despaired  of  a  place  in  the  ranks  he 
proceeded  to  Washington  to  secure  any  position  in 
which  an  old  man  might  render  service  to  his  country, 
and  there  he  was  at  last  put  in  charge  of  a  team  bearing 
the  daily  rations  of  the  boys  in  camp. 

This  martial  ardor  was  burning  and  flaming  in 
the  heart  of  the  old  man  whenever  he  heard  of  South- 
ern raids  being  made  on  Northern  soil ;  for  he  was 
wont,  with  the  utmost  fervor,  to  urge  his  fellow  citizens 
to  accompany  him  to  the  mountain  fastnesses,  where, 
like  Leonidas  with  his  300  Spartans,  they  might  in 
some  narrow  defile  stem  the  progress  of  the  invader. 

If  there  is  some  diversity  of  opinion  as  to  the  exact 

part  he  bore  in  the  bloody  engagement  which  took  place 

on  the  field  before  our  eyes,  this  circumstance  brings 

him  into  the  good  company  of  the  chief  actors  in  the 

battle  of  Gettysburg.    I  am  not  aware  that  historians, 


JOHN    BURNS   AT   GETTYSBURG.  37 1 

even  those  who  were  on  the  ground,  and  were  partici- 
pants in  the  struggle,  are  unanimous  in  their  descrip- 
tions of  the  part  taken  by  Meade,  or  Sickles,  or  Han- 
cock, or  Howard,  or  Lee,  or  Longstreet.  If  these  illus- 
trious captains  are  subjected  to  various  criticisms,  and 
the  lustre  of  their  soldiership  is  not  dimmed  by  the 
detractions  of  unfriendly  writers,  surely  the  fame  of 
John  Burns  can  endure  it,  if  divers  opinions  about  his 
deeds  of  valor  have  found  their  way  into  local  gossip 
or  public  print. 

It  has  not  diminished  the  glory  of  Homer  nor  de- 
preciated the  value  of  his  immortal  contribution  to  lit- 
erature, that  seven  Greek  cities  contended  respectively 
for  the  honor  of  his  nativity,  neither  have  any  laurels 
been  torn  from  the  brow  of  Burns  by  the  fact  that  two 
regiments  connected  with  different  brigades  claim  the 
honor  of  his  having  fought  in  their  ranks. 

The  sober,  unadorned  historic  feat  which  suddenly 
raised  John  Burns  to  indelible  renown  is  this :  When 
the  enemies  of  his  country  on  that  fateful  forenoon 
were  about  to  encounter  the  army  of  the  Union,  and 
when  the  cave-dwellers  of  this  ancient  borough — many 
of  them  his  juniors  by  thirty  or  forty  years — were 
making  themselves  secure  w^ith  their  wives  and  children, 
this  old  man  seized  his  flint-lock,  replenished  his  pow- 
der horn,  filled  his  pockets  with  bullets,  and  after  vainly 
urging  his  neighbors  to  accompany  him,  sallied  forth 
alone  out  to  the  firing  line.  Twice  his  application  to 
enlist  had  been  denied,  but  now  that  the  enemies'  guns 
are  heard  at  his  hearthstone  and  he  sees  the  Union 
army  marching  out  to  give  battle,  all  military  regula- 


372  THE   HIGHER   ROCK. 

tions  are  flung  to  the  winds.  The  time  to  fight  has 
come,  and  no  conventional  restrictions  can  longer  hold 
back  the  lion-hearted  and  fiery  patriot.  For  such  a 
spirit  once  aroused  only  one  thing  was  left  to  do — ^to 
destroy  those  who  were  seeking  the  destruction  of  the 
republic.  And  nobly  he  hurried  to  the  spot  where  the 
fire  was  hottest,  "towards  where  the  noise  of  battle 
smote  the  air  the  loudest,  with  set  teeth  and  furrowed 
brow,"  while  the  missiles  of  death  were  whizzing  and 
striking  all  around  him,  through  throngs  of  wounded 
and  dying  men,  he  pushed  his  way  to  the  forefront, 
intent  on  sharing  the  danger  of  sturdy  veterans. 

He  first  reached  the  150th  Pennsylvania  Volun- 
teers, and  requested  that  he  might  join  the  fighting,  but 
Col.  Wister,  not  caring  to  be  responsible  for  a  civilian 
found  with  arms,  discouraged  him  and  advised  him  to 
find  a  tree  in  the  woods  with  our  troops,  for  there  was 
more  prospects  of  safety ;  the  intrepid  fighter  had,  how- 
ever, not  come  out  to  look  for  a  place  of  safety.  He 
was  looking  for  an  enemy  to  hit.  He  had  gone  into 
the  thick  of  the  fray  to  offer  his  life,  not  to  save  it. 
What  he  wanted  was  the  best  place  to  fight,  and  he  was 
not  long  in  making  his  way  forward  to  the  skirmishing 
line — the  most  exposed  position. 

He  now  fell  in  with  the  Seventh  Wisconsin  regi- 
ment, a  part  of  the  Iron  Brigade,  just  going  into  action. 
Having  received  the  first  infantry  fire  of  the  battle  and 
charged  and  captured  the  firing  force,  this  regiment 
was  being  thrown  to  the  front  where  continuous  firing 
was  kept  up  with  shot  and  shell  whistling  and  bursting 
around  the  main  line.     "At  this  time."  says  Col.  Callis, 


JOHN  BURNS  AT  GETTYSBURG.       373 

from  whom  tliese  particulars  have  been  secured,  "I  saw 
an  object  approaching  from  the  rear,  and  I  think  the 
oddest  looking  person  I  saw  during  the  war.  He  wore 
a  bell-crowned  hat,  a  swallow-tailed  coat  with  rolling 
collar  and  brass  buttons  and  a  buff  vest.  He  had  on  his 
shoulder  an  old  rifle  with  which  he  came  to  a  present 
arms  and  then  said:  'Colonel,  is  this  your  regiment?' 

"  'Yes,'  "  I  said. 

"Then  he  brought  his  rifle  to  an  order  and  said : 
'Can  I  fight  in  your  regiment?' 

"I  answered :  'Old  man,  you  had  better  go  to  the 
rear  or  you'll  get  hurt.' 

"And  he  replied  just  as  a  shell  burst  near  him: 
'Tut!  tut!  tut!     I've  heard  this  sort  of  thing  before!' 

"These  words  were  spoken  in  a  tremulous  voice. 
1  again  ordered  him  to  the  rear,  when  he  replied,  'No, 
sir,  if  you  won't  let  me  fight  in  your  regiment  I  will 
fight  alone.'  I  asked  him  where  his  cartridge  box  was, 
he  patted  his  trousers  pocket  and  said :  'Here's  my  bul- 
lets,' and  taking  an  old-fashioned  powder  horn  from 
his  pocket,  'Here's  my  powder,  and  I  know  how  to  use 
them.  There  are  three  hundred  cowards  back  in  that 
town  who  ought  to  come  out  of  their  cellars  and  fight, 
and  I  will  show  you  that  there  is  one  man  in  Gettys- 
burg who  is  not  afraid.' 

"The  boys  made  merry  over  his  swallow-tailed 
coat  and  yellow  vest  and  broad-rimmed  hat — an  incar- 
nate fac-simile  of  Uncle  Sam — but  Sergeant  Eustis 
plead  with  the  Colonel  'to  fix  him  up,  he'll  soon  get 
tired  of  it  and  go  home.'  " 

The  Colonel  at  last  relented  and  the  old  flintlock 
24B 


374  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

was  exchanged  for  a  rifle  just  captured  from  Archer's 
sharpshooters.  "He  was  given  a  cartridge  box  and 
belt,  but  declined  to  use  these  new  fangled  things  and 
instead  filled  his  pockets  with  fixed  ammimition,  after 
which  he  went  into  the  ranks.  He  soon  grew  restless 
as  the  general  engagement  had  not  begun,  and  advanced 
to  the  front  towards  our  skirmishers  before  he  could 
see  a  rebel  to  shoot  at.  Pretty  soon  I  saw  a  Confeder- 
ate officer  riding  towards  their  advance  line,  mounted 
on  a  white  horse.  Burns  drew  on  him  and  the  horse 
galloped  through  our  lines  without  a  rider.  Whether 
the  officer  was  killed  or  not  I  do  not  know.  The  old 
man  loaded  and  fired  away  until  I  called  in  my  skir- 
mishers and  ordered  my  men  back  to  the  Seminary." 

Sergeant  Eustis,  of  the  same  regiment,  corrobo- 
rates Col.  Callis'  testimony.  He  says :  "We  boys  com- 
menced to  poke  fun  at  him,  thinking  him  a  fool  to  come 
up  where  there  was  such  danger.  He  surprised  us  all 
when  the  rebs  advanced,  by  not  taking  a  double  quick 
to  the  rear,  but  he  was  just  as  cool  as  any  veteran 
among  us.  We  soon  had  orders  to  move  a  hundred 
yards  to  the  right,  and  were  shortly  engaged  in  one  of 
the  hottest  fights  I  ever  was  in."  It  was  doubtless  in 
this  engagement  that  Burns  received  his  wounds,  one 
in  the  arm,  one  in  the  leg,  and  several  minor  wounds 
in  the  breast,  and  in  this  disabled  condition  he  was  left 
on  the  field  when  our  troops  were  driven  past  his  hum- 
ble homestead  up  to  Cemetery  Hill. 

Abandoned  by  those  in  whose  ranks  he  had  fought 
he  realized  his  peril  at  being  caught  as  a  "bush- 
whacker" when  the  enemy   was   approaching,  and  he 


JOHN    lU'RNS    AT    GETTYSBURG.  375 

managed  to  crawl  away  from  his  gun  and  to  bury  his 
ammunition.  Questioned  by  an  officer  whether  he  had 
not  been  in  tlie  ranks  he  stoutly  denied  having  been  a 
combatant,  and  insisted  that  he  had  gone  out  seeking 
some  help  for  his  invalid  wife.  The  officer  gave  credit 
to  this  piteous  story  and  ordered  the  wounded  non- 
combatant  to  be  cared  for.  A  rel>cl  surgeon  dressed  his 
wounds,  by  night-fall  he  dragged  himself  to  the  cellar 
door  of  the  nearest  house,  whence  he  was  conveyed  to 
his  home  in  a  rickety  bone-wagon  by  a  horse  too  de- 
crepit to  be  wanted  by  the  enemy,  and  there,  with  bul- 
lets still  crashing  over  his  head,  he  received  medical 
care  from  the  late  Dr.  Charles  Horner,  whose  widow 
and  daughters  are  still  with  us. 

Nothing  that  others  may  say  in  behalf  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  monument  can  have  the  weight  of  the  testi- 
mony borne  by  the  general  in  command  of  the  Army 
Corps  which  fought  the  battle  on  Seminary  Ridge. 
"My  thanks,"  says  General  Doubleday  in  his  official 
report,  "are  especially  due  to  a  citizen  of  Gettysburg, 
named  John  Burns,  who  although  over  seventy  years 
of  age,  shouldered  his  musket  and  offered  his  services 
to  Col.  Wister  of  the  150th  Pennsylvania  Volunteers. 
Col.  Wister  advised  him  to  fight  in  the  woods,  as  there 
was  more  shelter  there,  but  he  preferred  our  line  of 
skirmishers  in  the  open  fields.  When  the  troops  retired 
he  fought  with  the  Iron  Brigade." 

John  Burns  was  of  course  not  the  only  hero  of  the 
battle.  There  were  some  80,000  of  the  same  heroic 
mettle,  meeting  and  overwhelming  an  army  which  for 
discipline,  courage  and  valor  has  never  been  surpassed. 


376  THE    HIGHER    ROCK. 

Neither  was  he  the  only  citizen  of  Gettysburg  who 
went  forth  to  encounter  the  invader.  Not  waiting  for 
the  Southern  legions  to  reach  our  very  doors,  one  hun- 
dred men  and  boys  started  for  the  front  as  soon  as  they 
heard  of  the  enemy  crossing  the  Potomac.  They  hast- 
ened to  Harrisburg,  proud  to  be  the  first  company 
of  the  panic-stricken  Commonwealth  to  enlist  in  that 
crisis. 

They  were  soon  joined  by  other  organizations  and 
formed  into  a  regiment  which  was  honored  by  having 
in  its  ranks  a  brave  boy  destined  to  liecome  the  distin- 
guished Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  Samuel  W.  Penny- 
packer,  and  that  very  regiment  was  on  the  field  of 
Gettysburg  in  advance  of  all  other  troops,  ready  to  give 
battle  to  the  foe. 

The  fact  is  that  at  the  time  of  this  great  battle 
there  was  not  left  in  town  a  considerable  number  of 
men  capable  of  braving  arms.  This  county  furnished 
as  large  a  proportion  of  soldiers  as  any  other  common- 
wealth and  the  county-seat  contributed  its  full  share  of 
these. 

But  Burns  stands  out  singular  and  above  all  others 
in  several  respects.  He  was  at  least  twenty  years  past 
the  age  for  bearing  arms.  He  had  twice  been  rejected 
as  too  old  for  enlistment. 

He  knew  full  well  what  it  meant  for  an  ununi- 
fonned  civilian  to  be  captured  in  the  military  ranks,  and 
knew,  too,  that  if  wounded  he  could  claim  no  pension, 
if  slain,  his  family  was  entitled  to  no  benefit  from  the 
government.  So,  too,  he  lacked  the  incentive  which 
inspires  and  impels  the  officer,  who  faces  wounds  and 


JOHN    BURNS    AT    GETTYSBURG.  ^j']'] 

death,  conscious  that  glory  awaits  the  brave.  1  le  took 
an  obscure  position,  laughed  at  and  jeered  by  the  boys 
in  blue,  intent  only  on  this  one  thing,  smite  the  insolent 
foe  of  his  country.  That  his  devotion  and  daring  were 
most  extraordinary  and  unique  is  put  beyond  question 
by  the  fact  that  in  all  the  raids  and  invasions  made 
north  of  the  Potomac  and  the  Ohio,  there  is  not  another 
instance  recorded  of  a  civilian  leaving  his  home  and 
without  uniform  or  ceremony  joining  the  troops  in 
repelling  the  invader.  The  only  parallel  found  in  our 
annals  is  that  of  Mollie  Pitcher,  who  when  her  husband 
fell  on  the  memorable  day  at  Monmouth  took  his  place 
at  the  cannon,  an  act  of  singular  daring,  which  brought 
her  ilic  thanks  of  Washington  and  a  commission  as 
sergeant  in  the  Continental  Army. 

As  Washington  recognized  the  extraordinary  valor 
of  the  heroine  of  Monmouth,  so  did  Lincoln  show  honor 
to  the  hero  of  Gettysburg,  when  on  the  occasion  of  the 
dedication  of  the  National  Cemetery,  November  19, 
1863,  he  visited  this  field  and  delivered  that  immortal 
address,  Burns  along  with  thousands  of  others  was  in- 
troduced to  him  at  night-fall  just  before  he  started  to 
an  assemblage  in  the  Presbyterian  church.  The  day 
had  been  one  of  splendid  pagentry,  though  to  the  Presi- 
dent, moving  over  the  scenes  of  a  sickening  carnage,  it 
must  have  been  a  day  of  unspeakable  sorrow,  but  he 
seems  to  have  forgotten  every  other  consideration  in  his 
resolve  to  do  honor  to  the  aged  civilian,  who  defying 
every  peril,  had  thrown  himself  upon  the  altar  of  his 
country. 

Surrounded  and  followed  by  cheering  crowds  the 


378  THE    HIGHER   ROCK. 

great-hearted  and  noble  President  linked  arms  with  the 
plain  and  fearless  citizen,  and  together  they  walked 
around  Centre  Square  and  up  Baltimore  street,  a  pic- 
turesque contrast,  the  President  towering  head  and 
shoulder  above  the  crowd,  Burns,  a  fleshy  little  body, 
vainly  attempting  to  keep  step  with  him,  the  former 
having  on  that  morning  delivered  a  speech  that  will 
survive  until  liberty  dies,  the  latter  just  recovering 
from  wounds,  received  in  a  patriotic  feat,  which  has 
scarcely  a  parallel,  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  Republic 
and  an  obscure  representation  of  the  common  people. 
And  so  our  national  Congress  honored  him,  placing  his 
name  by  a  special  act  upon  the  pension  roll  of  the  coun- 
try— that,  too,  at  the  very  time  when  the  State  of 
Pennsylvania  bore  him  on  a  similar  roll,  for  his  ser- 
vices in  the  war  of  1812,  and  now  this  grand  old  Com- 
monwealth, proud  of  her  son,  adds  to  her  own  laurels 
by  the  erection  of  this  monument  in  commemoration 
of  his  superlative  heroism. 

And  we  do  well,  fellow  citizens,  in  rendering  here, 
on  the  anniversary  of  his  daring  feat,  this  final  tribute 
to  the  memory  of  our  townsman,  who  so  surprisingly 
and  justly  so,  became  one  of  the  most  famous  char- 
acters of  the  war  of  the  Union.  Who  can  estimate 
the  debt  which  our  nation  owes  to  such  a  spirit  of  self- 
sacrifice  and  unmeasured  devotion,  what  strength  it 
derives  from  this  species  of  moral  fibre,  what  independ- 
ence and  security,  what  majestic  and  glory  accrue  to  the 
Republic  from  a  citizenship  which  in  any  crisis  and  at 
any  cost  springs  to  its  defense. 

Such  men,  high-minded,  self-sacrificing  men,  "Men 


JOHN  BURNS  AT  GETTYSBURG.       379 

who  know  their  rights  and  knowing  dare  maintain," 
constitute  the  hfe-blood  of  the  State.     The  poet  sings: 

"111    fares   the    land,    to    hastening   ills   a   prey, 
Where    wealth    accumulates    and    men    decay." 

Wealth  is  accumulating  among  us  at  an  appalling 
rate.  Let  us  see  to  it  that  men  do  not  decay — for  the 
increase  of  wealth  has  seldom  failed  to  result  in  moral 
and  national  decadence.  Let  us  see  to  it  by  the  spirit 
of  eternal  vigilance  that  America  continue  to  produce 
a  race  of  men  like  John  Burns,  and  our  place  in  the 
forefront  of  the  great  world  Powers  will  be  held  as 
long  as  the  granite  and  bronze  of  this  monument,  here 
dedicated  to  personal  heroism  and  valor. 


